Nine Crimes
by starsnuffers
Summary: It’s hard to be famous. But when your dad can't stop drinking life gets even harder. Expecially when things get so bad at home that you have to run away... Can someone help him or will they just cause more trouble? Smitchie! Voted as favourite drama!
1. This Is Me

Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Hi.

My name is Shane Gray.

And my father is an alcoholic.

Only he won't admit it.

And I'm not allowed to tell anyone.

Not even my friends.

So you may be wondering how I get through the day.

I don't.


	2. Shadow

Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The first crime.

My dad started drinking.

See, my father used to be a drinking virgin. But one day, my parents got divorced and he got depressed. So he turned to drinking to stop his problems.

As you can imagine, it didn't help. It only made things worse.

So now he has a new wife, in which he refers to as his 'bitch,' which, of course, I do NOT approve of AT ALL, but the only reason why she doesn't divorce his sorry ass is because of me.

Because of ME.

Oh, and my money.

See, as you could probably guess by my name, I'm a big deal. So how come bad things always happen to good people? Is there some sort of reverse-karma I'm not aware of going on. Or maybe I'm just bad luck.

Nah, there is no way I'm bad luck.

"SHANE! SHANE!" I hear a voice screaming my name.

Oh yeah. Two AM. Means Daddy's home. Goody.

Good old Daddy is home.

I better go hide.

"GET THE FUCK DOWN HERE BOY!" he screams again.

I have no choice. I turn off my TV and slowly unlock my door. I step out of my room and look downstairs. Just as I thought. My father is sporting his usual drunken outfit – a t-shirt that's full of beer stains and some old jeans. Looks like he's been a hobo for a couple of years.

I take in a deep breath and slowly walk down the stairs. "Yes Daddy?" I ask.

He looks up at me and pounds his fist hard on the staircase. "Where the fuck have you been boy?"

I bite my lip. "Upstairs, Daddy."

"WHY WERE YOU UPSTAIRS?!"

"Because that's where I live,"

"Well you should be a little more social!"

"I'm sorry I was trying to protect Kayla from you."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME YOU LITTLE FUCK?!"

"I said nothing, Daddy. You've been drinking a lot and I have to protect her."

Kayla's my little sister. She's five. Ever so innocent. She doesn't even know what beer is.

My father stumbles around for a second as to be looking for someone. "Where's my bitch?" he asks. "GINA! GINA, GET OVER HERE!"

My step-mother comes running out of her room. "I'm here!" she calls out.

My father signals both of us to come closer, so I have no choice but to. My father punches me – hard – in the stomach and I double over immediately, falling to the ground. Gina is yelling at my father. Then I hear her screaming and my father cursing. I look over and see them walking away. Well it's more like Daddy is dragging Gina somewhere.

I know I should probably stop him from hurting her, but she's still married to my dad just so she can be rich, so if this is what she wants, this is what she gets.

I moan and get up from the ground. I use the help of the staircase to help me up and I slowly climb the stairs.

I walk into Kayla's room and see that she's crying.

"What's wrong, Kay?" I ask approaching her.

She's sitting up in her bed wiping her little eyes. "Daddy's being mean again," she says in her cute little-kid voice.

I scoop her up in my arms. "Shh. It's gonna be okay."

I really wish it would be okay.

Welcome to my life. Enter at your own risk.


	3. Train Wreck

Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I walk downstairs and go into the kitchen. Gina is making blueberry pancakes. I sit down at the kitchen table with Kayla. She looks over at me and gives me a smile. I smile back.

Gina sets a pile of pancakes right next to me. Kayla grabs one and tears into it, but I just look at the pancakes.

Guess who just joined us for breakfast? Dad. Or as I'm going to call him, Drunken Asshole.

Drunken Asshole takes a seat at the table right next to me and I look at him. I can smell him from a mile away. He smells like a mixture of beer and barf. Yummy. How appetizing. I scoot away from him and closer to Kayla. Drunken Asshole gives me a pissed off look and I stare back at him.

Gina hands him a plate and a glass of orange juice. Like nothing happened last night.

Like nothing happened.

I look around confused and Drunken Asshole and Gina are staring at me like I'm a Martian. I give them the same look.

"What?" I ask. "Why are we pretending?"

Gina cocks her head slightly to the side. "What are you talking about?"

My jaw dropped. "Do you not remember what happened last night?"

"What happened?" she asks.

"DAD!" I yell pointing to Drunken Asshole. "He came home and fuckkin' hit me! Why are you not mad at him?!"

She shrugs. "You have very strange dreams, Shane," she says going back into the kitchen.

I turn to my dad. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I turn back to Gina. "My father stumbled in our home last night, drunk as hell, and he hits me. And now you're pretending like none of this ever happened? Like what the fuck?"

Drunken Asshole grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls me close to him. "Nothing fucking happened last night, got that, boy?"

I gulp. "Yes, Daddy,"

He throws me back down.

"Daddy! Stop being a meanie!" Kayla yells.

My father turns to her and narrows his eyes.

I turn to my sister. "Kayla go upstairs and go play with your dollies. I'll be right there and we can play,"

She smiled. "Okay Shane! I love you!" she races up the stairs.

I stand up. "You can't keep pretending this isn't happening," I tell them both.

Gina turns to me, sorrow filled in her eyes, but doesn't do anything. Gah, I hate her so much.

Drunken Asshole glares at me. "Boy, we need to talk," He stands up and grabs my arm roughly, making sure that I get the point. He twists my arm as he pulls me into the other room. Once we're in the formal room, he slaps me across the face. "Our dirty laundry is our own business, got that?"

I nod. "Yes, sir,"

He slaps me again and then shoves me to the ground, walking away. I get up from the ground and walk up the stairs to my sister's room. She has her Barbie set all put together and hands me three dolls. One of which is me.

Yes, my sister has the Connect Three dolls.

"You get to be you, Jasey, and Nate," she tells me grabbing a brunette and a blonde. "I'll be Barbie and Jessica."

I take the Connect Three dolls laughing a bit and play with my sister, pretending like none of this ever happened.

If only it hadn't.


	4. Save Me

Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Eight in the evening.

Dinnertime.

I hear Gina calling my name, so I step out of my room and go downstairs to the kitchen, sitting at the table with Drunken Asshole. I don't look at him, though. Gina sets a bowl of spaghetti next to me and I grab my fork, twirling the pasta around.

I look over to my left and notice someone's missing. "Where's Kayla?" I ask Gina. I also notice that there are three more seats than our usual four.

"She went to the Tyler's house. They're coming over for dinner," Gina tells me, setting some forks down.

As if on cue, the doorbell rings and I answer it. Kayla is standing there – which I don't mind because I love my sister – but when I see Tess standing there, I narrow my eyes. Tess and her mum invite themselves in. They sit at the dinner table.

Tess sits as far away from me as she can, but I still glare at her.

You see, Tess and I used to be best friends. But when we went into high school and it became unacceptable to have best friends the opposite sex, we started a hatred for each other. But hey, she started it! She was the one who went all girly on my ass.

Once everyone is seated, I see that there's one more chair and bowl of pasta and wonder who else is coming. Tess's father left her and she doesn't have siblings, so I don't know whom else.

I gulp when I figure it out.

It's Sunday.

Gregory.

My half-brother.

Also known as my father's bastard child.

And my worst enemy.

See, before my dad married my real mum, he had a one-night stand with my mum's best friend and they had a son. He's four years older than me, and he is my dad's best friend. He comes over every Sunday, and when he's over, I can expect a beating.

"We're just waiting for Greg," Drunken Asshole tells Tess and her mum and then about five minutes later, the door rings and he gets up to answer it.

Lord save me.

Gregory sits down at the table and laughs when he sees me. "Hey there Shane," he says. "How's my favourite popstar?"

The second crime: Gregory.

I bit my lip from saying something and stare down at my pasta.

He laughs and so does Drunken Asshole. Gina says grace and we all eat our food. I'm suddenly not hungry anymore. The sight of Gregory makes me want to puke.

I scoot out my seat. Everyone looks at me. "My stomach hurts," I announce. "I'm gonna go lie down for a while," I begin to walk away from Hell, but Drunken Asshole stops me.

"No. We have company over," he says.

I sigh and sit back down at the table, trying not to look at anyone I hate. Wait, that's everyone except for Kayla. I look over at Kayla and she smiles at me. She doesn't know. She doesn't know about Gregory or Drunken Asshole. She doesn't know what happens every Sunday when Greg comes over. I'm glad she doesn't know.

I stay silent the whole dinner. Tess is chatting away about her new CD and Mrs. Tyler is talking about it too. Gregory and Drunken Asshole are talking about American football, and Kayla is telling Gina which specific Barbies she wants.

Like Gina will get them for her.

I pay attention to what my sister wants so I can buy them for her tomorrow.

Here's the thing about Gina – she has a lot of money. A lot of _my_ money. But she refuses to buy anything for us. She spends it all on her fur coats and whatnot. One time, she bought a fur coat that costs as much as a Pruis! I would know that because that same day, we bought a Pruis.

So every time Kayla wants something, I always take her to the store and buy her it. Because, really, no one else will. And, honestly, it's kind of nice to take her to Target and see her smiling face when she gets new dolls. Because that's about the only ounce of happiness we get.

**A\N: I just got nominated as favourite author, so please go vote for me!!**

**/scarlettblush **


	5. Going Under

Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After dinner, Kayla, Gina, Tess, and Mrs. Tyler leave the table. The Tyler's go home and Kayla goes to bed. Gina heads off into her room to watch Desperate Housewives.

Leaves me all alone with Drunken Asshole and Gregory.

"So you like football, Shane?" Greg asks me.

I shake my head. "Not really."

Wrong answer.

Greg stands up. "Well we better change that, eh?" he grabs my arm and pulls me out of the chair, having it fall over. I scream and try to wriggle away.

My father opens the backdoor and all three of us head out. Drunken Asshole grabs a football from the porch and turns on the lights outside. Greg goes to the other end of the backyard and my father hits me – but not playfully, hard – on the arm. "You're on my team," he tells me and I follow him to the left side of the yard.

Drunken Asshole passes the ball to me and I don't know what to do. But Gregory is charging at me. I scream and run away from him. I open the gate and run down the stairs to the creek area. I throw the dead pig on the ground and run as fast as I can to the neighbor's yard, hiding behind their bridge.

I can hear Gregory calling my name and my heart pounds louder. It's dark out and I'm hiding so I don't think he'll find me.

But he does. He grabs me and pulls me up. "Here he is, Dad!" Gregory calls out to Drunken Asshole.

Drunken Asshole comes over to me. "What the fuck was that?" he asks. He has a bottle of beer in his hand. He throws the empty beer bottle in the creek. He turns to my stepbrother. "Let's throw him in."

I gulp when I see the smirk on Gregory's face. Throw me in where?

Greg grabs my arms and Drunken Asshole grabs my feet. They hoist me up, screaming, and carry me over to the river.

"Please! No!" I beg. "I'm sorry!"

They ignore me and count to five, swinging me. On five, they let go – any normal parent would just trick you and scare the hell out of you, but they let go – and I go flying into the river with a splash.

I land on some hard rocks, but I'm underwater, so I don't even try to scream. I go up to the surface and gasp for air. I can hear Greg and DA (Drunken Asshole) laughing hysterically and high-fiving.

I wait for them to leave the creek area before getting out of the creek and waddling over to my house. It's freezing cold out because it's October, and I hobble up the stairs to my backyard. I ring my shirt out and take off my wet jeans before going inside.

It's past ten when I climb up the stairs to my room. Once I'm in my room, I take off the rest of my clothes and turn on the shower. I step underneath the hot water and hold my breath for ten seconds. Then I slowly let it out and wash all the creek water off of me.

But the night's not over. There is no way I'll get off easy with just a splash in the creek. I dry myself off and put some pajamas on. I lock my doors and crawl into my closet, locking that door too, and hide behind mountains of clothes.

I hear banging. "GET OUT HERE YOU LITTLE FUCK!" DA calls to me. I know that voice. He's obviously had a couple beers.

I don't get up. I stay as quiet and still as I can.

Surprise, surprise. They find me.

DA hauls me up and punches me across the face. I bite my lip, keeping myself from crying. First rule: show no sign of weakness. Those two get some sort of sick pleasure from watching me suffer.

Gregory punches me twice as hard – he's nineteen and is the star quarterback for his college team.

I close my eyes as I wait for the next punches. I silently pray that my mum is watching this and is gonna tell God to perform a miracle to make this stop.

Oh, yeah. My mum. Forgot to mention more about her.

The third crime: DA killed my mum.


	6. Trash

Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Around midnight, I'm sore all over. My arm hurts most of all. I slowly get up from where they left me on the ground and crawl over to my bed, lying down. I pull the comforter of me and reposition the pillow.

I hear a knock on my door. I assume it's DA or Greg and I ignore it.

"Shane?" I hear a soft, innocent voice. Kayla.

I get out of bed, wincing, and stumble over to the door, opening it. I see my sister standing there, holding her raggedy, old bunny rabbit and her blanket. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asks. "Greggy kicked me out of my room."

My jaw drops. "He did?"

She nods.

"You can sleep in my bed," I tell my sister, appalled that a nineteen-year-old kicked his little five-year-old half-sister out of her room.

Kayla runs over to my bed and hops in under the covers. I hear her sniffing a bit like she's crying, and I get in the bed with her.

"What's wrong, Kay?" I ask.

She looks up at me. "Greggy told me that Daddy doesn't love me," she says, breaking out in tears. "And he also said that Mummy never loved me either."

I hold her in my arms. "Mummy does love you, Kay," I assure her. I'm not so sure about Daddy though.

Here's the thing about DA: He hates me. But he likes Kayla. Well, he doesn't actually like her, it's more of he can tolerate her. He'd never hurt her though because she's only five. Even though I know he'd never do anything to harm her, I still protect her. If DA were even to lay a finger on her, I'd have to kill him.

Kayla wipes her eyes. "I miss Mummy."

"Me too," I tell her. She doesn't know what DA did. I want it to stay that way. She thinks she died in a car crash. Well, there was a car involved.

We need help. But Gina, DA, and Gregory would kill me if I told anyone about what's happening at home.

Kayla hugs her bunny tightly. I close my eyes and fall asleep.

X X X

The next morning, Kayla wakes up for school. I help her pick out an outfit and she gets dressed. I make her lunch for her and put it in her backpack. We walk to school together and she gives me a tight hug.

I pull away from out hug. "Have fun at school," I tell her and wait for her to run off into the building like she always does.

But she stays put. She holds out her hand. "Come to school with me, Shane," she says.

I sigh and grab her hand. We walk into the school together and I'm immediately surrounded by little people. I walk her to her class and wave to the teacher. I haven't been in a school for a while because I'm home schooled.

Kayla sits down in her little people's chair and grabs a piece of paper and starts coloring. She looks up at me. "Colour with me, Shane," she says, handing me a green crayon.

I sit down in the tiny chair and draw a picture of me and her standing with our mum under a rainbow. I look over and see that her teacher is giving me a weird look. She signals for me to come to her, so I do.

"Is there any reason why you're still here?" she asks. Yeah, the teacher's kind of an old bitch.

"Kayla wants me to. We're having problems at home, and…" I just trail off, knowing that if I say any thing else, it'll be my head.

The teacher just nods and turns around, gathering some papers up. I take that as a 'yes, you can stay' and sit back down at the table.

As I'm in the middle of coloring, Kayla's teacher announces that we're going down to the library for story time and that we need to buddy up. Kayla grabs my hand and we walk out of the school with the whole class, and over to the library that's next door.

When we get to the library, I notice that it's not just little kids who are here: There are plenty of high-school people, too. That's because all the schools in this area use the same library. I remember coming to this library all the time in junior high.

While Kayla and her class go to the kid's section of the library, I decide that I don't really want to listen to some stupid kid book, and I go to the teen section, looking for a book to occupy myself with for the time being.

I get a couple of looks from some people who recognize me, but I just smile and wave at them, sitting down at a table. I start reading a book that I picked out, but then after the second page, I'm already as bored as hell.

And then I get an idea.

I put my book down and get a piece of paper and a pencil and I start to write.

"_Dear person who is reading this,_

_I know you're probably going to think I'm weird and messed up, and if you do, I'm okay with that. But right now I need some advice. See, my father has a drinking problem, but won't admit it. And I'm not allowed to tell anyone or he'll kill me. But I need someone to talk to. So maybe you could help me. Write me a letter and put it in the book that hasn't been checked out in five years called 'The History of Modern Whaling' in between pages 32 and 33. I'll check by tomorrow and see if you left a note. _

_From,_

_Well, my name's not important."_

Oh, God, I already regret this. I fold it up neatly and nudge some random kid who's next to me. He looks over at me with a confused look on his face saying 'Why did Shane Gray just nudge me?' "Give this to that girl over there," I whisper pointing to a girl with long brown hair and bangs.

He nods and passes it to someone else.

I feel really stupid. I get up from the chair and put the book back on the shelf. I walk over to the kiddie's section, but on my way there, I look back and see the girl opening up the note. I quicken my pace and see my sister and her class sitting down in a circle. I join them and Kayla smiles.


	7. Missing

Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The next morning when I drop of Kayla at school, I don't go back home; I go to the library. I pretend like I'm browsing for a bit, but then I find the 'History Of Modern Whaling' book and grab it. I turn to page thirty-two and see a pink piece of paper.

"_Dear Well My Name's Not Important,_

_What. The. Fuck. You are truly fucked. Tell me your fucking name and maybe I'll help you._

_Love, M.D.T."_

Well that wasn't as helpful or useful as I had hoped. I stand there holding the note for a second, contemplating what I should do. Should I write a letter back or just give up? I shrug and take the book over to a table. I take out a sheet of paper and write on it.

"_Dear M.D.T.,_

_That really wasn't the best letter I would have hoped for, but I guess it will do. My name's Shane if that matters. Not telling my last name just yet. What's your name?_

_Shane."_

I put the paper in the same spot and put the book back. I got here kind of early in the morning, so maybe this M.D.T. person will write back by the end of the day. I'll check back later.

X X X

When I go back home, I open the front door and see a bunch of suitcases piled up high by the door. I stand there in the doorway for a bit, wondering why there are suitcases. Is Gina finally packing her bags and leaving?

"Shut the damn door!" I hear a voice call. DA's.

"What's with all these suitcases?" I ask, walking into the house and shutting the door.

Gina comes over to me. "Your father and I are getting away for a week to a mountain retreat. Gregory will be here to babysit you and Kayla."

"WHAT?!" I scream. Gregory. Babysitting. This sounds bad.

She nods. "We're leaving at five, so he'll be here tonight."

My eyes widen in horror and I stutter a bit before racing out of the house.

The fourth crime: Gregory baby-sits.

I run as fast as I can down the street and once I get to the end, I fall on the grass by the light post and just cry. I think about my sister. Will she be safe? I know that my father would never hurt her, but Greg sure as hell would. And Kayla and I both know that.

I calm myself and walk like a civilized human being to the library. I go over to the section where the whaling book is and turn to page thirty-two. Sure enough, there's a pink note card in there. I take it out and read it.

"_Okay Shane, if that really is your name, I've decided to help you. _

_M.D.T."_

I grab a pencil and write on the back of her paper.

"_M.D.T. – I just found out about ten minutes ago that our evil half-brother, Gregory, is going to be babysitting us for a whole week while my dad and his bitch (that's what he calls her) go on vacation. Kayla is my sister, and she's only five and I don't know what to do. See, Gregory is not just evil like he's mean, he's EVIL. On Sunday, he threw me in the creek and then beat the shit out of me. I'm scared for Kayla's life. _

_Shane."_

I put the note in the book and close it, putting it back in its location. I walk out of the library and go into the elementary school. I see Kayla running up to me, and she gives me a big hug. I wince a bit because she's hugging me right on my bruises. I gently push her away and she smiles at me.

"Hi Shane!" she greets happily.

I close my eyes and sigh before I get down to my knees to talk to her. "Kayla, Gregory is going to baby sit us for the rest of the week. If he does anything mean, you let me know."

I can see the fear in Kayla's eyes. She knows Gregory is bad news, because he beat her up last Christmas.

She grabs my hand and we walk home together.

Once we get on our street, I see a car in front of our house.

Gregory is here.

Let the pain begin.


	8. Haunted

Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Gregory is standing there, a smirk on his face. Gina and DA are leaving right now and he just shut the door. Kayla is standing with me on the stairway. He turns to us. "Why hello there, children," he says. "Now that I am in charge, you listen to me. Kayla – go clean the bathrooms. Shane – make dinner. Now."

I race down the stairs and look in the pantry. I grab some spaghetti and start boiling some water.

I look to my left and see Gregory standing there, holding a leather belt. I gulp. "Gregory, please, please, don't hurt Kayla." I beg.

He raises his eyebrows.

"You can hurt me all you want. But don't lay so much as a pinky on her." I say, trying to keep my voice from trembling.

Gregory approaches me with the belt and I back up a bit. He raises his hand and slaps me across the face. "I'm not gonna hurt the little twerp. I'm gonna hurt you."

I gently rub my face and sit on the counter, waiting for the water to boil.

"I want you to make that pasta to perfection, you hear me?" Gregory tells me. "Eleven minutes. Exactly. No more no less. Got it?"

I nod my head and watch the pot, waiting for it to boil. All I care about right now is the safety of my little sister, and I feel a little more assured that Gregory is down here with me instead of up there with her.

When the water boils, I race over to it and put the timer on for eleven minutes. I pour the pasta in and push it down so that it's all submerged in the pot. I stir the pot and look back, only to see Gregory standing right behind me with his makeshift whip.

After ten minutes, I grab some oven mitts. When the timer goes off, I turn off the burners and grab the pot with my red mitts. When I go over to the sink to drain it, I realize that I never put the strainer there.

Shit.

I stand there frozen, wondering what I should do.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock." Gregory mocks me.

Then, he comes over with the belt and whips me hard. I hold back a cry.

"DAMN IT, THAT'S LONGER THAN ELEVEN MINUTES!" He yells and whips me again. He pushes me as hard as he can, and I – and the pot of boiling water – go tumbling down to the ground. The water spills all over me and I scream.

"You better clean that up," Gregory smirks and sits down at the table.

I'm still screaming and crying my eyes out.

Kayla comes running down the stairs. "Shane!" she cries going into the kitchen.

"No!" I call out. "Go back upstairs!" I tell her.

She starts crying and races back up to her room.

I pull myself back together and pull my knees up to my chest. My shirt is soaking wet and so are my pants. I wipe away tears and use the counter to get back up.

"Screw it," Gregory says, walking over to the phone. "I'll order pizza."

X X X

The next day, I take Kayla to school and then go to the library. There is a note in the book.

"Shane –

_Sucks for you. Maybe if you tried talking to your mum or something. Not your step mother, but your real mum. You could call the cops…_

_M.D.T."_

Ha ha, yeah call the cops. DA would kill me. Gregory would kill me before the cops came. Gina would kill me. Good idea. Call my mum? Good luck with that one. She's dead. I picked up my pen and wrote.

"M.D.T –

_So are you ever gonna tell me your real name? I told you mine. Oh, and last night, we had our first night in Hell. First of all, Gregory forced me to make dinner, using a whip as an incentive, and then I left the pasta in too long, so he whipped me and then dumped the boiling water on me. I have burn marks all over me and it sucks. Call the cops? Yeah right. If I called the cops, Gregory would murder me before they came. Call my mum? She's dead. My father killed her._

_Shane."_

I put the note in the book and then left the library. When I got outside, I looked around. Then I thought about where I should go. If I went home, Gregory would kill me. If I didn't go home, Gregory would kill me.

Well, good things odds are in my favor, eh?


	9. What It Takes

Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

I decided to go home. Big mistake. Gregory was waiting there with his whip. First, I had to do all the laundry. Then, I had to massage his feet. After that, I had to wash his car.

"Good," he says.

I look at my watch. It's past three. "Can I go pick up Kayla from school now?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Not yet."

I groan. "Please? She's been there for thirty minutes. The school is gonna call us and find out you're the one keeping me from picking her up."

Gregory hands me a toothbrush. "Here's a toothbrush," I look at it and notice that it's mine. "Use it to clean the toilets."

I shake my head. "No. I'm going to pick my sister up."

He raises his eyebrows and pulls his belt out. I gulp and go into the guest bathroom, using my toothbrush to clean the toilet. Gregory is standing in the doorway watching me.

When I finish scrubbing it, I turn around. "Can I go now?"

He shakes his head. "Brush your teeth; they're gross."

My jaw drops. "I'm not using this toothbrush!"

Gregory grabs a toilet brush. "Fine. Use this."

I shake my head. "NO! I'm using a fucking toilet brush!"

"Then use the toothbrush," he says.

I sigh and put some toothpaste on the toothbrush and brush my teeth with it. I try to rinse my mouth out with water, but Gregory turns off the water before I could.

"You don't have time; you have to pick up your sister," he says and pushes me out of the bathroom.

Great. Now my mouth tastes like a toilet. I grab my hat, mittens, and coat and zip it up before heading out. When I get to the end of the block, I go into the bushes and throw up. Nasty.

When I finish having my episode, I wipe off my mouth and walk over to the school. Kayla is standing there with her teacher, who looks _muy_ pissed.

I grab Kayla's hand and say sorry to her teacher, who just rolls her eyes and gets in her car. Instead of going home, I go to the library. There's a note in the book and I read it.

"Shane –

_Sorry about your mum. Your dad sounds like a real asshole. And for Gregory, I feel awful. You should go to a hospital and get those burns checked out. Oh, and I won't tell you my name because I still can't figure out which Shane you are. You're either Shane Charbonneau, Shane Torgerson, Shane Meade, or Shane Gray. And I highly doubt you're Shane Gray. Why the hell would Shane Gray be sending me notes? But I hate two of the four and if you're someone I hate, I'd rather not tell you who I am. But my middle name is Demetria._

_M.D.T."_

I write a note back to her.

"M.D.T.-

_Which two do you hate? Not Shane Gray, right? He's a pretty cool person. And as for your name… What kind of a name is Demetria? Oh, and as for your update on Hell… Right before I came here, I was forced to clean the toilet with my toothbrush and then brush my teeth with it. Can't wait for what happens tonight._

_Shane."_

Kayla and I walk back home. When we walk up the porch, I try opening the door. But it's locked. I sigh and go around to all the side doors. Every door is locked. Every window is locked.

I ring the doorbell a million times, but it's obvious Gregory doesn't want us sleeping indoors tonight.

I groan in frustration and take Kayla back to the library. We hang out there in the warmth for a while until it gets late and the library closes. We go back home, but the doors are still locked.

Not knowing what to do or where to sleep, I take my sister to the park.

Kayla looks up at me. "Why are we at the park?"

I sigh. "Gregory's not gonna let us sleep inside today," I lead her into the play place and she crawls in one of the tunnels. "Sleep here, okay? It'll protect you from the snow."

Yeah. It's snowing out.

My sister holds her arms out for a hug, and so I hug her and kiss the top of her head. I hand her my jacket. "Stay warm, okay?" I tell her. She nods and puts my jacket on.

There are no more tunnels, so I go over to the bench and brush off some snow with my gloves. I lay down on the cold, metal bench and try my hardest to fall asleep.

The fifth crime: I am forced to become a hobo.


	10. Moon And Sun

Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

I wake up before light out because someone's shaking me. Guess what? It's a police officer. Apparently, being a hobo is illegal.

"Sir, why are you sleeping on a bench?" he asks.

I yawn and wipe my eyes away from sleep. "I got kicked out of my house." I tell him.

He rolls his eyes. "Find somewhere else to sleep."

I sit up and walk over to the playground. I wake my sister up. It can't be past three and she's exhausted. I pick her up and carry her. I don't know where I'm going, but I keep walking. I wind up at the Tyler's house. I stand in front of their porch wondering if I should ring their doorbell and wake them up so we could have a warm place to sleep, or if I should find another hobo spot.

There is no way I'm going to them for help.

I walk away from their house and head down the street. It's dark, I'm tired, and I don't know where I'm going. Nor do I care. I end up at the library right as the sun begins to rise. I yawn and lean up against the wall. Kayla is sleeping in my arms and I hold her as I sleep.

I wake up when I hear the sound of children. I open my eyes and see a bunch of kids walking with their parents to school. I wake Kayla up and she stands up.

I give a small smile to her. "Have fun at school."

She hands me my jacket and I put it back on. My arms are covered in Goosebumps and I think my toes have frostbite. I stand up and hug her before setting off to the library.

When I walk in the library, I feel the nice warm air welcome me and I sit on the couch for about an hour, just getting warmed up. Then, I head over to the books and grab the whaling book.

I see the familiar stationary and feel slightly relieved.

"Shane –

I'm not telling you which Shane I hate, but it certainly isn't Shane Gray. He's the best member of Connect Three. And as for my name… make fun of it one more time and I'll track you down and kick your ass. What happened with Greg Meanie Pants?

_- M.D.T._

_PS – which Shane are you?"_

I write back.

"_M. Demetria T.,_

_Last night, Gregory locked us out of the house and wouldn't let us back in. We ended up sleeping at a playground like hobos and then getting kicked out and sleeping near the library. And about my last name… wait a while and I'll tell you. What's your first name?_

_Shane whose last name is a secret."_

I leave the library and head back to Hell. When I walk down the street, I notice that my dad's car is there. Why would his car be there?

I attempt to open the door, and to my surprise, it is unlocked so I step inside. The evil smile of Gregory isn't greeting me, so I begin to get worried. Or relieved. I can't tell which. "Hello?" I ask, hanging my coat up. "Anyone here?"

No one answers.

I look around the house. "Hello?" I ask again.

Then I see Gina sitting on the couch, crying.

"Gina?" I ask, walking to her.

She looks at me and tries to hide the fact that she's crying. "Oh, hey Shane," she says.

"What's wrong?" I ask. Sure I hate her, but I can't deal with crying.

Gina shakes her head. "I just really wish your father would stop drinking."

"Why are you home so early?" I ask.

"There was a giant blizzard coming our way, so we were forced to evacuate," she explained, standing up. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a phone. My phone. The one my dad took from me a month ago. "I'll give you this if you help me with something."

I shrug. "What?"

"I need you to help me find all the bottles of beer and get rid of them."

"Sure."

She hands me the phone and I turn it on. I have two hundred text messages and thirty voicemails. That's what I get for not having my phone for a month. But I told Gina I would help her destroy the alcohol, so I put the phone in my pocket and grab all the liquor bottles in the usual places: Cabinets, under the sinks, in his desk, under his bed, and behind the toilet. Yes, he hides his beer behind the toilet.

I take the bottles outside and chuck them at the tree with anger.

I'm letting out all my anger. All my feelings. It's all going out. We used to be a happy family, my mum, dad, Kayla, and me. We would eat dinner together every night. Mum had a job. Dad had a job – well he still does, but he's probably gonna get fired soon. My band was just getting started and we weren't famous yet.

My parents loved each other. My mum and my dad would hug and hold hands – which I thought was gross, but now I miss it. Mum would make dinner every night for us. I was able to focus on music and Kayla could play Barbies without me screaming in pain downstairs. Dad never came home drunk and smelling like barf.

But then my mum got in a fight with my dad and got divorced. And then dad got pissed. And started drinking. And then one day when she was coming to pick us up and to take her to her house, my dad was driving drunk. And when my mum was crossing the street…

Bam. The second crime.


	11. What Hurts The Most

Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Where is it? Where the hell is it!?" my father stumbles into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets, obviously searching for the liquor we threw out yesterday.

I'm sitting at the kitchen table writing a new song as my father goes on an alcohol rampage.

DA storms over to me. "What the fuck did you do with it, boy?!"

Obviously, he accuses me.

But then again, I did take it.

I shrug. "Ask Gina."

He growls and bit and then turns around. "BITCH! What did you do with my liquor?!"

Gina walks into the kitchen and puts her hands on her hips. "Shane and I threw it all away. You have a problem that has to stop. And this is where you start."

DA turns to me. "You were a part of this?"

I reluctantly nod. He walks over to me and smacks me across the face. I gasp and then he pushes me over, causing me to fall on the ground. He repeatedly kicks me and I curl up into a ball, trying to protect myself. "You little fuck!" he screams. "How dare you! You had no right to do that!" He starts kicking me even harder.

After he's done kicking me, he pulls me up roughly and grabs my collar as he slaps me. "I can break every bone in your body, you little fuck! Don't you dare mess with me!" He grabs my arm and tries to snap it in half. I scream.

"Robert! Stop hurting him!" Gina scolds.

Oh, now she steps in. Right as I'm sure I've broken something.

Gina walks over to DA and pushes him away from me. I get dropped to the ground, which only makes me cry out in pain.

DA calls me a 'little fuck' a couple more times and kicks me one last time before grabbing his coat. "I'm going to Dane's," he says, leaving the house. Dane is his drinking buddy.

I'm still lying on the ground. Crying. My lip is bleeding, and I have a gash on my forehead. I don't know how that happened, but it did. Gina comes over to me. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

My jaw drops. "Am I okay? AM I OKAY?! My father just beat me up and snapped my arm in half, I'm lying on the floor, bleeding and crying and you're asking me if I'm okay? IF I'M OKAY!" I sigh. "Just help me up and take me to the hospital."

Gina shakes her head. "If we take you to the hospital and they see you, they'll know your father has abused you, and then I won't have the legal rights to your money."

Oh yeah. Forgot. Money is more important then my health.

"Well," I start, "if I'm dead, there will be no money for you to have, so you might as well take me to the hospital."

She stands her ground. "I'm not taking you."

I scoff. "Fine. I'll take myself."

"Yeah? How you gonna get there?"

"I'll drive."

"You can't drive. You're fifteen."

"Yeah, well I think that dying is a good excuse for underage driving. I hear it's better than underage dying."

"I won't let you go."

"Why not?"

"Wait. Just a little bit longer and you'll be fine."

"A little bit longer and I'll be dead!"

"You're not going to die."

"If I have internal bleeding, yeah, I kinda will."

"What makes you think you have internal bleeding?"

I pull up my shirt a bit. "See these massive bruises? Yeah, I think I'm internally bleeding. Now if you excuse me, I'm off to go see a doctor before I bleed to death," I say and attempt to get up.

Gina stands her ground. "Young man, I will not let you go to a hospital."

I tilt my head slightly to the side. "That sounds so wrong on so many levels."

The sixth crime: I die. My dad just killed me.

Just kidding.

But I do start vomiting blood.

The sixth crime: My father gives me internal bleeding.


	12. So Close

**A\N: Shit! I almost forgot to update today! Sorry but alot of things were going on sorry! But here it is... Chapter 12. Oh, and if you haven't already voted in my awards, please do!! Go to my profile page; it explains everything.**

**Chapter 12**

I moan and turn onto my stomach, getting on all fours. I throw up again and wipe my hand on my mouth. I look and see that my hand is smeared with blood.

"Damn it, Gina, take me to a hospital right now," I order.

But she walks away. SHE FUCKING WALKS AWAY. And leaves me to die.

"GINA? GINA! GINA GET BACK HERE!" I yell. But then I throw up again and I know I have no other choice. I use a chair and use my good hand to help me up. Once I'm up, I clutch my stomach and wobble a bit.

Kayla comes downstairs. "Shane? Shane are you okay?"

I shake my head. "I need to get to a hospital. Fast."

Her eyes widen. "I'll get Gina."

"No!" I call out and she turns back around. "She won't help me. I need you to call Nate, okay?" I grab my phone and toss it to her. She knows how to use my phone, so she scrolls down in my address book to Nate's number and she calls him.

I turn the other way, and throw up blood again. I moan and fall down to my knees.

Kayla starts crying. "You're gonna die!"

I shake my head. "Just stay strong, okay?"

"Nate? It's Kayla," my sister talks on the phone with my best friend. "Yeah, Shane's in trouble and we need to go to the hospital. Can you come pick us up? Hurry," she hangs up and throws the phone down on the table.

Luckily, Nate and Jason only live a few minutes away from here, so they should be here soon. You know, before I die.

After two more vomiting episodes, Nate and Jason come to the rescue, rushing in through the front door. I'm leaned up against the wall, looking and feeling like crap. I'm too exhausted to walk, so Jason picks me up.

Nate looks around. "What happened? What's with all the blood?"

I close my eyes and let out a soft moan. "Explain… later…" I say, too tired to say anything else. I pass out in Jason's arms.

X X X

I wake up later in a hospital bed. I don't know what happened, but nothing hurts that much anymore. I open my eyes and look around the room. Nate is sitting there in a chair, snoring. I decide not to bother him, so I turn over, getting comfortable, and then I feel something I know wasn't there before.

It's a green cast on my left arm.

Great. DA broke my arm.

I sigh and just close my eyes, trying to sleep.

The next time I wake up, it's when someone is touching me. "Go away," I mumble, my eyes still closed. I decide to open my eyes when I am curious as to who is in the room with me. It's a nurse. And she's changing the bandages on my stomach. "What happened?" I ask.

She looks over at me. "You had internal injuries, and we had to rush you into emergency surgery. When your friends brought you in, you were barley alive."

I close my eyes. That sounds like it sucks. Oh, wait. It does suck. Sucks to be me.

"Do you mind if I ask what happened?" she asks.

"As a matter of fact, I do."

She puts her hand on my shoulder gently, causing me to re-open my eyes. "If someone did this to you, we need to know. But some of your cuts and bruises seem to be old, so we know they've been there for a while. Is someone at school beating you up? Someone at home?"

I shake my head. "If they were, why would I tell you?"

"Because we can help."

"I don't need your help. I'm fifteen. I can handle things myself," I say stubbornly, and turn away from her. I hug my pillow and gaze out the window. It's snowing.

She sighs. "We're going to have to get the police involved," she says simply and walks out of the room.

I turn around and watch her walk out. I see Nate, who is still sleeping, curled up in a chair chair. He stirs a bit and coughs. But then he goes right back to his soft snoring.

I know you're probably wondering why I don't just tattle on my dad and make all this stop, but here's the thing. Deep, deep, down inside, I still love my dad. There's a little part of me that will always love him, no matter what. And I truly believe that one day he will change. And then we can be happy again.

And also, if DA goes away to the slammer, Gina gets full custody of me. And if she does, she'll take all of my money. All of it. Every last penny. My dad is the one who's keeping her from taking it all.

So it turns out there is an advantage to having my abusive dad live with me.

A couple minutes later, the nurse returns with two police officers. I just glare at them. I don't say anything.

One of them sits on the edge of my bed. "Can you tell me what happened?"

I stare blankly at him.

He sighs. "Will you please talk? We're here to help you."

I stare at him.

"Is there someone at school beating you up? A bully?"

I lick my lips. Silence.

This is gonna be a long night.


	13. No Secrets

Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It's been about two hours. I haven't said a word. Not a single word. When Nate woke up, he was forced to leave the room so I could 'talk privately.'

The policemen keep asking me questions and I just stare at them.

After a bit, they start talking to each other, saying that I have a mental disorder or some shit like that. Sure. Let's go with that. But I'm not going to let them find out the truth.

The other one that hasn't been talking much turns to me. "Listen – I know you've gone through a lot of trauma, and you're young, but we really need you to tell us who's been doing this to you so we can make it stop. Because it's only going to get worse."

I stare at them and then lay down on my side, pulling the covers over my head. The police obviously don't like this, because they pull the covers right off me.

"WHAT?!" I bark. They looked a little shocked my by sudden outburst.

The officer with the blonde hair sits down in a chair by my bed. "We'll wait here all night if we have to. We're going to break you."

"That really isn't the best thing to say to a kid who's mentally unstable," I retort and make a face saying 'oh yeah, I totally just dissed you. What are you gonna do about it?'

He stares at me with his piercing green eyes. "We're going to find out the truth either way, so you might as well just tell us now."

I smirk. "But that's where you're wrong," The officer tilts his head slightly to the side, as if to send a message to me that he's confused. "You see," I continue, "I'm strong. I've learned to show no signs of weakness at any cost, and I think it's made me stronger. You don't know what I go through every day. So, no. You will not break me. Because I'm unbreakable."

The officer looks slightly impressed.

I yawn. "Well excuse me, but I'm exhausted," I say and turn onto my side, closing my eyes. I try to go to sleep so I don't have to talk to these clowns. I hear them leave and shut the door behind them.

X X X

The next time I wake up, there's a rather large lady sitting in a chair by my bed.

"Are you here to try and break me?" I ask. "Because if you are, you might as well just leave. Because you won't be able to."

"I'm not going to try and break you," she says. I know it's a lie. She looks too nice. "I'm Doctor Taylor, but you can call me Alex."

"Okay, Alex," I say with a slight laugh.

Alex smiles at me. "I'm a child psychologist."

Great. Just what I need. Because I obviously have a psychological problem.

I stare at her.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Silence.

"The silent treatment, eh?"

I scratch my head.

"So what are your hobbies?"

What?

"Do you play sports?"

I stare at her. I hate sports.

"You like football?"

I loathe football.

"Play music?"

Nothing.

She sighs.

I crack. "We used to be happy," I say, on the verge of tears.

"What?" Alex looks intent now.

I nod. "My mummy and I."

"What happened to your mum?"

I bite my lip to keep myself from saying anything else.

And then I break. First, tears started rolling down my eyes. And then came the sobs that shook my body. Alex wraps her arms around me and lets me cry on her shoulder. I sob into her shoulders for what seems like an eternity and she keeps patting my back and saying, "Shh…."

I pull away from the comforting hug and wipe my nose on my arm, sniffing. I pull my knees up to my chest and bury my head beneath my arms, which are folded and rested on top of my knees.

Alex sits down in the chair. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I shake my head, but deep down inside, I really do want to talk about it.

"We can talk about it. No one has to know except for us. I'm sworn to secrecy under law."

I lift my head up. "You promise?"

She nods.

So I vent. "My mummy was hit by a drunk diver," I tell her. "I watched her get hit. She was just walking across the street to our house and then BAM! She dies. Right there. They couldn't save her," I trail off, feeling more tears come. "AND IT WAS ALL MY DAD'S FAULT!" I break down in sobs again, but then stop myself. "I've said too much."

Alex shakes her head. "No. You can tell me. It feels good to let all those feelings out."

"No. I see right through your evil plan. You're trying to make me spill all my secrets and then you're gonna go blab it off to the cops."

She looks hurt, but I know she's faking so she can get more information out of me.

"Please," I beg, "just leave me alone," I lay back down and close my eyes.


	14. One Day At A Time

Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

I feel someone pushing me.

"What?" I groan sleepily.

It's Jason. "Hey Shane. Wakey, wakey!"

I open my eyes and turn around, only to see one of my best friends standing there with my little sister. Kayla smiles and then hugs me. "I love you Shane," she says.

I hug her back and don't let go until after about a minute.

"Can we go to Target?" she asks.

I laugh a bit. "Maybe when I get out of here, okay?"

She frowns. "I really wanted to go with you. I miss you."

I give a half smile. "We can go later, I promise."

Kayla smiles a bit.

"We better get you back to school," Jason says grabbing Kayla's hand.

My jaw drops. "You pulled her out of school?"

Jason shrugs. "It was easy. We just snuck out the back."

"Did you sign out at the front office?"

"No…"

"OH MY GOD!! You could like get arrested for that!"

"REALLY?!"

"Yes!!"

"Oh, shit. We better go back right now. Bye Shane!"

Kayla waves. "Bye!"

The two leave the room. I sit back in the bed, thinking out about how much trouble Jason will be in when he returns her back to the school. Nate comes walking into the room. "Hey Shane, do you want a soda?"

I nod. "Totally."

He hands me a coke and I drink it all.

"So when can you go home?" Nate asks, sipping his Diet Coke.

I shrug. "Go ask."

Nate sets his coke down. "I'll be right back."

When he returns a couple minutes later, he says, "They told me to tell you that you'd be going home soon, since you're all better."

"Cool," I smile. I hope Kayla's been all right at home without me. She seemed okay, but she really wants to go to Target with me and I don't know what's been happening at home.

X X X

The next day, I'm being discharged. I kind of feel horrible about going home, because I don't know what's going to happen or if I'm going to be sent back to the hospital any time soon. But then again, I can't wait to sleep in my own bed and not be pestered by annoying nurses. And I also want to be able to protect Kayla and make sure she's all right.

I get rolled out of the hospital in a wheel chair, which is uber retarded because it's not like I gave birth or something. Jason is driving me home, so I hop in the backseat and once Nate is in, Jason drives me back to my house.

I look out the window at my house and stare at it. Jason looks back at me. "So are you ever going to get out?"

I sigh and turn to him. "Can I stay at your house today?"

Jason and Nate exchange glances and then Jason drives away to his house. Before I could open the door, Jason runs over and opens it for me, picking me up bridal style.

"Why hello there," I say sarcastically. "Any reason why you're carrying me inside?"

He laughs a bit. "You just got out of the hospital silly!"

I laugh and he takes me up the steps to his house. It must be hard for him, because these steps are so steep I have a hard time getting up them just by walking. He unlocks the door and all three of us step inside.

Right as I think Jason is going to let me down, he walks up his stairs.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"My room," he says. "You are in no condition to get up and run around."

"Shut up," I say. "I'm fine."

But, of course, he ignores me and takes me into his bedroom, setting me down gently in his bed. He pulls the covers over me.

"You just sleep and if you need anything," he hands me a whistle that he got off his side table, "just whistle."

I take the whistle and put it by me. "Thanks, Jase."

He smiles. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'll be fine," I tell him stubbornly. That's what I get for being a Taurus.

"Whatever, Mr. I Just Got Emergency Surgery," Jason smirks. "Speaking of which, how the hell did that happen? You never did explain."

I bite my lip. "Can I tell you later?"

He nods. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

Nate walks in the room. "Hey Jason, can I borrow some shampoo?" He looks at me. "You spending the night or something?"

I shrug. "I guess."

"Cool because tonight is Super Sleepover Night," he says, going into the bathroom, getting shampoo. "And you've already missed four sleepovers."

Yup, today is Tuesday. Every Tuesday is Super Sleepover Night, in which Nate, Jason, and I all have a sleepover at Jason and Nate's house. (Yes, they share a house.)

"Can Kayla come?" I ask.

Jason shrugs. "Sure. She's cool."

Nate looks at me weird holding a bottle of shampoo. "What? Why?"

"No reason," I say. "She's just missed me a lot since I've been at the hospital."

"Whatever," Nate says. "I'm gonna take a shower," he announces and leaves the room.

Jason turns to leave too, but I stop him.

"Hey wait," I say. He turns around. "Will you pick Kayla up at school at three?"

He nods and sets off.


	15. La Resistance

Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

I wake up and look at the clock by Jason's bed. 3:05. Shit. Did Jason pick up Kayla from school? I grabbed the whistle that was next to me and blew it (ha ha, dirty) about five times as loud as I could.

Within milliseconds, I hear Jason running up the stairs. But then there's a loud crash and the footsteps cease. I hear Jason scream "FUCKING STAIRS!" and then the footsteps start up again. He must have tripped.

Jason burst into the room with a dramatic entrance, pushing the white double doors as hard as he could. "What? Who died?" But then the doors hit the wall and bounced back at him, hitting him in the face. I stare at him and he holds his nose. "Ahh, fuck. Nose bleed," he says and grabs a tissue.

"Umm…" I start.

He looks over at me. "What happened? Did you die?"

I shake my head. Dumbshit. "No, I didn't die. Did you pick up Kayla from school?"

Jason ponders this for a moment. Then he exclaims, "Fuck!"

I pull the covers off of me. "I'll go pick her up – she likes it when I get her from school, anyway," I begin to put on some slippers Jason got for me, but then Jason pushes me – literally – back in bed.

"No, no, no Mister. You stay in bed," he says and pulls the covers back at me.

My eyebrows rise. "Seriously? I'm fine. Besides, I need to go to the library anyway," I get back out of bed and put the slippers on.

"Well do you want real shoes?" Jason asks going into his closet. He pulls out some tennis shoes and hands them to me. "It's cold out there," he tells me and I put the shoes on. Luckily Jason and I wear the same shoe size.

I pull on my coat. "I'll be right back."

"Want me to drive you there?"

"Seriously. Stop doing favors for me."

He sighs. "Fine."

I smile at him and then walk down the stairs, using the railing to keep me up. After all, Jason already tripped on them and I don't need to risk it. I pull on some random gloves and a hat I find near the door and then head out.

It's a further walk to the school from Jason and Nate's house, but I don't really mind. It's a nice, cold, October afternoon. When I reach the school, I see my sister standing there with her bitchy teacher.

I walk up to them with a smile, but then when I see the pissed off look on her teacher, I frown.

Kayla comes up to me and hugs me. Her teacher narrows her eyes at me and then walks away to the only car in the parking lot. I take my sister's hand and we walk over to the library.

"I'm glad you're home from the hospital," my sister says.

I nod. "Me too. How are things at home?"

"Fine. Nothing bad happened if that's what you mean."

"That's good."

We get to the library and Kayla goes immediately over to the little kid section. I walk over to the oceanography section and pretend like I'm browsing for a bit. I see a girl with long brown hair and these boots – they were the coolest boots I've ever seen – come over to the section.

I quickly grab a random book – I don't even know what it is – and she picks a book off the shelf. She looks at me and smiles. Then she looks down at the book. Then she does a double take and closes the book. "Shane Gray? What are you doing here?"

I hold up my book. "Research. For, uh, my… school project."

She looks at me like I'm crazy. "You're researching… plant sex?"

I look at the book and the title is 'The Sex Life Of Sea Cucumbers." My jaw drops. " I … Uh… YEAH. I mean, duh! It's the best science topic EVER!" I say half-sarcastically and laugh awkwardly. "It's actually for Jason's project," I put the book on a random shelf.

"Jason still goes to school?" the girl asks.

"Uhh…. Did I say Jason? I meant Nate. Well, I have to go now. Bye," I quickly run away and go into the little kid section.

Kayla is sitting there reading a Clifford book. I take the book out of her hand and put it on the shelf. "We have to go home," I tell her.

She gets up from the floor – no questions asked – and we quickly hustle out the door.

We had to leave so quickly because that's the girl I've been writing too.

When we get outside, the cold blasts in our faces, and we walk to Jason's house together. We have to pass by our house to get there.

After we pass the house, Kayla stops. "Umm, Shane? Don't we live there?"

I nod. "We do, but tonight it's Super Sleepover Night."

"Am I invited or something?" she asks.

I nod. "Yup. Now let's go."

"Really!?" she squeals. "Oh my gosh! Yay! I can't believe I'm actually invited!"

I laugh a bit and take her hand. "Now let's go before Jason thinks I died."

We walk to Jason's house and I open the front door. Kayla takes off her puffy coat and backpack and puts it by the door.

I turn to Kayla. "Why don't you go upstairs and pick the room you want to sleep in tonight?" There are plenty of bedrooms in Nate and Jason's giant house.

She smiles. "I can't believe I actually get to come to a super sleepover!" Then, my little sister races up the stairs.

I walk into the kitchen where Jason in making linner (lunch \ dinner. It's like brunch, only better.) He puts down the spoon he was stirring with. "Young man, where have you been?"

"Um… I told you I was going to the library," I explained, taking some cookie dough.

Jason swats my hand away from the sugary goodness. "Go upstairs and wash up for linner."

I roll my eyes. "Aye, aye, sir!"

See, Jason's pretty weird. He acts so stupid at times, but then he acts like a mother… Like what kind of an eighteen-year-old boy acts like a mother? He also has this weird thing where every night he just HAS to cook a nice dinner, and if you don't eat it, you can expect hell that night.

Right before I could leave, Nate comes flying into the kitchen with nothing but boxers on and some socks. "Whee!" he exclaims, sliding. He screams when he falls over, but then laughs when he gets back up.

"OH MY GOD, NATE! Put some goddamn pants on! There is a child upstairs!" I scold. Now I'm acting like Jason.

"WHAT?!" Nate exclaims. "Who's here?" He attempts to cover himself up with a blanket.

"Kayla," I tell him. "Now go get ready for dinner."

Nate wraps the blanket around him. "Okay, fine. I was really hoping to have a dinner with no pants on."

I turn around to face him. "What?"

He nods. "Yeah. I was gonna not wear pants tonight, but Kayla's here, so I can't."

"Uh huh…." I slowly nod my head. "Now just go back down to your bachelor pad and get ready, okay?" I open up the door for the first level and shove Nate down the stairs, closing the door. I hear him scream my name, followed by 'AHH! MOTHER FUCKER!'

Serves him right. He didn't wear any pants.


	16. You Just Don't Know It

Chapter 16

**kjChapter 16**

After I showered, I went downstairs sporting some of Jason's pajamas and I sat down at the table. Jason was still stirring some pot of something or other, and Kayla was coloring some stupid little Hannah Montana coloring book. I wish there were Connect Three coloring books….

"What colour should I make Hannah's shoes?" Kayla asks me.

I look over at the picture. "Uhh… pink," I say with absolutely no idea what colour shoes would look good with green pants.

"Nate! Linner's ready!" Jason calls to Nate, who is still downstairs.

Nate comes upstairs – wearing pants, thank God – and sits down at the table. "Hi Kayla, what 'cha coloring?"

Kayla looks up at him. "Hannah Montana!" she exclaims happily.

"Ugh, what a bitch," Nate rolls his eyes.

"NATE!" I scold. "Do you not realize there's a child here?!"

"What?" he shrugs defensively. "I'm telling the truth. She was so needy and bitchy."

Yeah, she was kinda a bitch. Nate dated her for about three months and then broke it off.

"OKAY JUST STOP!" Jason calls out. "I want no cussing with little people around!"

Kayla scoffs. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Jason! I'm a big kid now!"

Jason holds his hands up defensively. "Okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he says quickly and starts filling up some bowls with spaghetti and marinara sauce. Jason brings the bowls over to the table one at a time, and we all dig in.

As we were eating, Nate starts talking to me with his mouth full. "So we gotta have band practice tonight. Like, seriously, where have you been for the past month? It's like you disappeared off the face of the earth or something."

"I told you," I said, "I lost my phone."

Nate rolled his eyes. "You can't lose your phone for a whole month."

"Hey, it could be possible."

He looks confused. "Um… whatever. Jason and I wrote a couple new songs and we need to rehearse. We have to get a new CD out there soon."

I nod. "Yeah, I know, I know."

We sit in silence for about a minute, and then Nate breaks it by saying, "So what did happen to you?"

"Hmm?" I ask, shoving a wad of pasta in my mouth.

"Well I went to your house and saw you half-dead on the ground."

I wipe some excess sauce off my mouth. "Oh. That. I fell off the roof."

His eyebrows raise. "You were… climbing your roof and fell off?"

I nod. "Yeah. Kayla dared me to walk on the roof, so I did, and I fell off."

Nate nods, not believing anything I'm saying. "Mmm hmm… I see."

"I'm being serious."

"Oh, and I believe you," he says this sarcastically.

I put my fork down and it clangs on the side of the bowl. "I'm not lying."

Nate nods slowly. "Sure… and that explains the emotional breakdown at the hospital, right?"

I roll my eyes. "I was missing my mum."

"Yeah. Sure. You just so happened to miss her and have a panic attack at the hospital four years after her death."

"Okay, seriously? Just stop."

Jason scoffs. "Nate," he scolds.

Nate lets out a loud sigh. "Fine. Don't tell your best friend what's really going on. Remember when we met and became best friends? We promised that we'd tell each other everything. As in everything."

I sigh and close my eyes. "Nate… I can't tell you. I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because it's personal."

"You're not doing drugs, are you?"

"No!"

"Are you secretly gay?"

"What? No!"

"Did you get someone preggo?"

"Preggo? What is this pregnant thing?"

"Well then what did you do that was so bad you can't tell your best friend?"

"I can't tell you!"

"Why the fuck not!"

Jason gasps. "LANGUAGE!" He stands up. "I do not want this sort of potty language at my linner table. You two dirty barnacles take this outside!" He turns to Kayla. "Let's go upstairs and play a board game."

Kayla sighs. "But board games make me bored!"

"Fine, we'll watch TV," Jason grabs Kayla's hand and the two of them walk upstairs.

Nate sits down and puts his hands over his face, looking very stressed. "I just don't understand why you can't tell me."

"Because I can't!" my voice raises and I clench my fists. I feel my face get hot and I don't know why I'm suddenly having a rage attack. Oh great, I'm turning into my father. I will not turn into my father…. Resist temptation to yell…

"WELL WHY NOT?!" Nate blows up.

"STOP YELLING AT ME!" I scream.

"WELL THEN TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!"

"I CAN'T TELL YOU!"

Nate scoffs, rolls his eyes, and shakes his head at the same time. "Fine. You can keep your little secret. But what you won't keep is a friend."

My jaw drops. "Nate. Don't."

He holds out his hand very sassily. "Yeah, don't want to hear it."

"Come on, Nate!"

"You know what? Just leave."

"Leave? You don't get to tell me what to do and what not to do!"

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

I feel that horrible lump in my throat and I let out a quick sigh and shake my head before going up stairs. I walk into the game room and see Jason and Kayla watching the Wizards Of Waverly Place. "Come on, Kayla. We're leaving."

She looks upset. "But what about super sleepover?"

I shake my head. "Not tonight."

Kayla hops up from the couch and walks over to me.

Jason looks confused. "What happened? Why are you leaving?"

I shrug. "Ask Nate."

And with that, Kayla and I leave. We don't look back. We go home. And yes, I'm still wearing Jason's pajamas.


	17. Alms! Alms!

Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

When we get home, there is a nice dinner waiting for us. Gina greets me with a warm, smiling face. "Hello sweetie, how was your day?"

I raise my eyebrows. Why is she being so nice to me?

"What's wrong?" she asks.

I just stare at her.

"Sweetie?"

My jaw drops. Sweetie? Why is she talking like this?

"Well just come eat dinner," she says, leading Kayla and me over to the dinner table.

We exchange worried glances, not sure as to why Gina is being so nice suddenly. Even though I'm so creeped out, I sit down at the table with my sister. Gina smiles at us. I want to puke.

"So… Kayla and I already ate," I tell Gina.

She frowns. "Well I made this nice family dinner."

Family dinner? What's that?

"So can I leave?" I ask. I really want to go in my room and sleep.

Gina shakes her head. "We're waiting for your father."

My father? You mean the one that nearly beat me to death?

As if on cue, DA comes through the door. But he doesn't stumble for he's sober. He smiles. "How's my loving family?"

Okay, now I'm officially creeped out. This is weird.

DA puts his coat on the back of the chair and then kisses the top of Gina's head. He sits down. "Boy, am I hungry. I had such a hard day at work!"

He works? I thought he just got drunk and then came home to hit me. Where have I been for the past week? Oh yeah, now I remember. The hospital.

"How were your days?" DA asks my sister and me.

Ah, today was just peachy. Well thanks to you, I was rushed to the hospital and then lost my best friend.

I just stare at my father. Does he really expect me to tell him about my week?

"Don't want to talk about it?" he asks.

I shake my head. "Actually, I really don't."

He searches his tiny, tiny brain for something else to say. "Want to go get some ice cream?"

"ICE CREAM!" Kayla screeches.

I raise my eyebrows. "Seriously?"

He nods. "Seriously."

I scoff. "Now why the hell would I want to go get ice cream with you?"

DA looks slightly hurt. "Because I'm your father and I love you."

"You do?"

"Do I what?" he asks.

"You… love me? So was beating me up one of your loving gestures? I heard most daddy's prefer to give their kids hugs."

"Now Shane," he starts.

"No! Don't 'Now Shane' me!" I roll my eyes and stand up. "I'm going out."

"Shane!" DA calls out to me.

I whip around and hold up my middle finger. "Yeah, fuck you!" And with that, I storm away.

Gina comes after me. "Shane! Say sorry to your father!"

My jaw drops. "SAY SORRY?! He's the one who should say sorry! Just a week ago he was beating me to death, and now he's winning the father of the year award?! Like what the fuck is this?"

Gina puts her hand on my shoulder. "He's trying his hardest to bring our family back together."

"Our family?" I ask. She nods. "OUR FAMILY?" I say a little bit louder. "No. No, no, no, no. You are NOT by any means part of our family."

"Shane…"

"No!" I jerk my shoulder so that she takes her hand off of it. "You don't get to be apart of our family. You're not my mother!"

She looks like she's about to cry. "I'm trying my best."

"Yeah? Well your best isn't good enough." I narrow my eyes at her and then grab my coat and walk out the door.


	18. Down With The Sickness

Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

I slam the front door as hard as I can and then quickly walk down the steps to the street. Fucking Gina… Fucking dad… Fucking Nate… Fuck everyone. You know what? Fuck the world.

I mumble to myself as I walk down the street. I head down to the closest restaurant, the Westwood Tavern, and I get a table for one. I get seated immediately – forgot to mention this, but I own this restaurant – and I sit in a booth in the back.

My waiters already know what I want to eat and drink, so they bring me a glass of raspberry-mint slush. Yeah, you may be wondering what that is. See, one time Nate and I were playing Fear Factor Food Edition in the kitchen, so we were seeing who could make the most disgusting drink, and Nate's turned out to taste really good. So now it's on the menu.

When the raspberry drink is set down next to me, I stare at it. It reminds me of Nate. My now ex-best friend.

I sigh and put my elbow on the table, resting my head on my hand. I think about Nate and the band… Does this mean that Connect Three is over? Should I tell Nate what's happening with my dad and then maybe we can be friends again? I'm only fifteen; I shouldn't be worrying about things way beyond my maturity level.

"Rough day?" I hear a voice.

I look up and see my best friend who just so happens to be a girl, Caitlyn, standing by the table. I sigh and look back down. "Yeah."

"What happened?" she asks, sitting down at the table.

I shake my head. "Nate. He's being unreasonable."

"How so?"

"I don't really want to talk about it…" I sigh. "And I have a horrible headache."

Caitlyn looks sad. "I'm really sorry… about what ever it is that's bothering you."

I nod. "Me too."

"You know what might cheer you up?" she asks.

"What?" I say, stirring my raspberry-mint slush with my draw. I begin to pound the little mint leaf that's in it to the bottom of the glass.

"My friend's having a party tonight. We could go. There's gonna be lots of people there," Caitlyn tells me.

"People? I don't really want to talk to people right now."

"I can tell."

"Mmm…"

"But this might cheer you up. You can either sit here and be miserable or come to the party with me. There's gonna be a lot of potential girlfriends for you there."

I sigh. "I'm not sure I'm ready for another girlfriend."

"Whatever," Caitlyn says, standing up. She hands me a piece of paper. "Here's the address. Come if you want."

I don't touch the paper and Caitlyn gives me a half-smile before walking out of the restaurant.

Right when she leaves, I begin to wonder why she was here in the first place. Then I remembered that she works here, so mystery solved. There's too much on my mind and I can't think straight.

My food comes and I stare at it. Hmm… three dinners in one night? I sigh again.

My waiter obviously senses that something's wrong because he asks, "Is something wrong?"

"Nope," I stand up. "I'm going to a party." I take the piece of paper and walk out of my restaurant.

I head off down the street. The address is only two blocks away, so I walk down the street on this cold night and reach the house. It's a two-story mansion, and the loud music is easily heard. Hmm… interesting.

I ring the doorbell and someone opens the door for me. It looks like a scene from Mean Girls. There are a bunch of kids - some my age, some older - dancing in the middle of the hallway, holding glasses of punch. It's really crowded, too.

I walk inside and look for Caitlyn. As I'm walking, someone tries to grope me. Pervert. I hear my conscious telling me to go back to the restaurant and leave the party, but I keep pressing forward. I think I see Caitlyn, so I quicken my pace and shove through a crowd of people into a kitchen.

Caitlyn is standing there, holding a plastic cup. She turns to me. "Shane! Glad you could make it!"

I nod. "Yeah…"

"Here, have a drink," she says and shoves a red, plastic cup at me. I take it and look at it. I know that drink too well; it's beer.

I put the cup down. "Erm, I'd rather not."

She laughs a bit. "Come on. It won't hurt you! Just try a sip."

I want to say no, but part of me wants to say yes. I stare at the beer.

Caitlyn rolls her eyes and picks the cup up. "Just try it. You'll love it!"

I gulp and take the cup. I stare at it and sniff it. Yup, smells just like my father on a Saturday night… No, wait. Every night.

"Come on! Drink it!" Caitlyn pressures me.

I don't move a muscle. I don't even blink.

She rolls her eyes and sighs. Then she takes the cup and puts it up to my mouth, tipping it back so I'm forced to drink some of it. I spit it out all over the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Caitlyn exclaims. She puts the beer back on the counter.

I pick the cup back up and drink some of it.

The seventh crime: I try beer… and I like it.


	19. Disturbia

Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

After about my fifth glass – not that I've kept count or anything – I begin to feel a bit tipsy. Okay, a lot tipsy.

Caitlyn's had about two more glasses than me, and right now we're having a drinking contest.

"Shane! Shane! Shane!"

People are cheering me on.

Oh, God, I'm turning into my dad.

I drink another glass and then feel awful. When someone hands me another cup, I put it on the counter. "Uhh… I'm done. Cait-Caitlyn wins." My words begin to slur.

I push the stool I was sitting on out from under the counter and walk. I have no idea where I'm going or why, but I keep walking. I suddenly feel like barfing, so I look for a bathroom. I stumble around for a bit and walk up some stairs.

I go into a door and find that it's a bathroom. But there's two people making out by the toilet. I roughly push them aside and then puke.

That was so not pleasant.

I manage to stand up and leave the bathroom.

I start to wander around aimlessly a bit more and then feel like I have to go home. So I make my way to the door, but then someone stops me. It's some girl. She looks at me with a seductive smile.

"You're Shane Grey," she says, still smiling.

I nod. "Yeah, I am."

My breath smells like puke and this girl is cute. I don't want her to smell it and run away screaming.

She puts her hand on my chest. "You, Shane, are so sexy." Her words are slow and seductive.

The girl is shorter than me, so I have to look down at her. Her eyes seemed to glisten when they hit the lights. "Why thank you," I say. I get that compliment a lot.

"I love you," she says.

"Thanks," I tell her, getting a tab bit freaked out. Who the hell is this person?

She rests her head on my chest and sighs, closing her eyes. "Why the hell are you so hot?"

Thank you, creepy lady.

I push her away. "Umm… I gotta go."

She shakes her head. "No. Stay. The party's only just begun."

I laugh awkwardly and push creepy person away from me again.

The girl laughs and grabs my hand. "Let's go somewhere private."

Before I could protest, she's already pulling me up the stairs, giggling. I follow her, not knowing what's going on.

We go into a bedroom and the girl tackles me onto the bed. She tries to make out with me, but I turn my head to the side and she ends up half-kissing, half-licking my cheek. She uses her hands to put my head back upright and then actually makes out with me.

Last time I checked, this was rape.

The girl is still on top of me and she's giggling and breathing heavily. "Unzip my dress," she says.

I shake my head. No way in hell!

She rolls her eyes and stands up. The girl unzips the black and green Polk-a-dot dress and it falls to the ground, revealing her lacy red underwear. It's basically see-through and has little red hearts on it. The strapless bra matches.

I begin to get so freaked out that I can't move.

The girl crawls back on the bed and gets on top of me. "Ooh, Shane!" She rubs her face on mine. "I love you so much."

What the fuck!? I don't even know you, lady!

But I can't say anything.

I'm being raped and it's scaring the shit out of me.

The girl licks her lips and then unbuttons my jeans. I gasp a bit. She's touching me in inappropriate places! The girl manages to get my insanely tight jeans off somehow and then slips off my boxers. Then she pulls off my shirt. Damn, I'm exposed!

"Do you have a condom?" she asks, un hooking her bra.

I shake my head, my eyes as wide as they can be. I'm only fifteen… this can't be happening. I'm not ready for this yet!

The girl rolls her eyes and then looks in the nightstand. I'm frozen. I can't move anything. And I'm freaking out.

The girl grabs a small square thing and opens it. She's a pro at putting it on – I'm assuming it's a condom – and my heart starts to beat faster.

There's a freakin' naked girl right in front of me and she's about to… do it! WITH ME.

I open my mouth to speak but no words come out.

But I do manage to say, "Who the hell are you?"

She wouldn't tell me her first name, but her middle name is Demetria.

Oh. Wait a minute…


	20. Breathe Into Me

Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Whoa.

This is weird.

Like _muy_ insane.

I just woke up in a hospital bed.

I sure as hell don't remember falling asleep here.

Or falling asleep at all.

What the hell happened last night?

All I remember is…

Wait.

I don't remember anything!

Okay, hold the show. There was something about a party. And some chick. And then it's all a blur from there… What did I do? How did I get here? What happened?

Crazy.

This is insane.

God, I feel like puking.

Maybe if I fall asleep…

Scratch that. You can't sleep at a hospital. There are way too many noisy people here.

Like Nate for instance.

"WHAT THE FUCK, MAN?!" he's screaming.

At me.

Why me?

I open my eyes. "Good morning," I say sleepily.

Nate points an accusing finger at me. "What the hell's your problem?"

I stare blankly at him. "I don't know… what?"

His jaw drops. "Last night! You frikkin over dosed on pills!"

"I did?! Since when?!"

"Since last night!"

"What? I don't remember any of this!"

"Last night. I went to your house to go apologize about snapping at you. I looked all over the house and then found you passed out on your bathroom floor, a bottle of Advil was empty next to you."

Holy shit.

Holy Jesus Christ monkey balls.

SINCE WHEN?!

I sure as hell don't remember this!

"How many did you take?" Nate asks, his voice softer.

I stutter a bit. "I don't remember. I don't remember any of this. Holy fuck, I'm flipping out right now, Nate! I don't fuckin' remember any of this!"

"How do you not remember this?!"

"I don't know!"

"Well, remember or something!"

"What? You can't just-"

"Yeah, shut up."

"What? You don't make any sense."

"WHATEVER!"

I sigh and close my eyes. Why the hell can't I remember any of this? I'm freaking out… this isn't good. Like twelve hours of my life just disappeared. Why can't I remember?!

"Did you remember yet?" Nate asks.

I scoff. "No."

"Well that's because you're not trying."

"Of course I'm trying!"

"No, you're freaking out. You need to calm down and concentrate."

Hmm… I never knew Nate was so smart. What a smart thirteen-year-old.

Okay, so I just laid back and closed my eyes. Talk a deep, relaxing breath… Then let it all out through your nose. All right. Done.

Yeah, it didn't work.

I didn't remember anything…

Hold the show! I'm getting something!

_"Do you have a condom?" she asks, un hooking her bra. _

_I shake my head, my eyes as wide as they can be. I'm only fifteen… this can't be happening. I'm not ready for this yet!_

_The girl rolls her eyes and then looks in the nightstand. I'm frozen. I can't move anything. And I'm freaking out. _

_The girl grabs a small square thing and opens it. She's a pro at putting it on – I'm assuming it's a condom – and my heart starts to beat faster. _

_There's a freakin' naked girl right in front of me and she's about to… do it! WITH ME._

_I open my mouth to speak but no words come out. _

_The girl kisses me again. "Oh Shane!" she moans. _

I quickly shake my head and open my eyes. I just wanted that bad memory out of my mind.

Nate looks over at me. "Did you remember anything?"

I nod. But I don't say anything.

After a moment, he says, "Well what was it?"

I open my mouth to speak, but hesitate before saying, "I got raped."

He stares at me for a moment. "Seriously?"

I nod. "By some chick…"

"Who? Where?"

"I don't know! All I remember is that she had brown hair. And we were in an unfamiliar room. I can't remember what her face looked like, but she had brown hair. She was my age… and… and… that's it."

Nate is speechless. Except he does say, "Well, shit."

As if I wasn't already thinking that.

"Try to remember more," Nate says.

I close my eyes and try the meditation thing again.

_I put my shirt back on. I turn to the girl. "You have some issues," I tell her. I put my pants on. _

_"No, Shane, wait!" the girl calls out. "We just got started!"_

_I shake my head. "No. This isn't… I'm not… I'm only fifteen."_

_"Me too," she says, nearing me. _

_I back away, pulling my shirt on. "You're fuckin' sick, girl. You know that?" I shake my head in disappointment and walk out of the room. People are still dancing to the incredibly loud music and I quickly go down the stairs. _

_"Shane! No! Wait!" the girl is calling after me. _

_I look behind me and see the girl chasing me down the stairs with her dress only half on her body. _

_"Put some goddamn clothes on, bitch," I sneer and go out the front door. _

_I have a headache. It pounds in my head as I walk home. Everything seems so different here when you're drunk and it's nighttime. _

_When I make it home, I stumble upstairs. Everyone in the house is sleeping and I head straight for my bathroom. I puke a few times and then go into my room. I lie down in my bed and feel that comforting feeling I always get when it's been a hard day._

_After tossing and turning a few times and repositioning my pillow a ton, I get out of bed and massage my temples. Shit, my head hurts. I get out of bed and go into the bathroom, going into the medicine cabinet. Ahh, there's the Advil. _

_I unscrew the cap and put a pill in my mouth, washing it down with some sink water. I wait a moment, but the throbbing pain is still there. Sighing, I take two more. Then another. Then another. And another. Then four more. And another…_

_I sit down on the floor. _

_The pain is still there. _

_I put five in my mouth at a time and drink them down. _

_Still hurts. _

_Fuck. _

_I dump out the bottle and find four pills left. I take them. I sit on the floor for about ten minutes. Then I decide to go to bed. I slowly stand up, using the counter to help me up. _

_Ooh, I feel woozy. _

_I attempt to take a step forward to my bed._

_But then I fall down to the floor, passing out._

_Well at least the pain stopped. _

"Shit!" I exclaim out of nowhere.

Nate looks over at me. "What? What did you remember?"

"I took the whole bottle of Advil. Every pill. I am such a stupid fucktard!"

"You stupid fucktard! Why the hell did you take the whole bottle? For fun?"

"No, not for fun! I had a headache! I was drunk, okay?!"

Nate stares at me for a second. "You… drank?"

I sigh and close my eyes. Shit, shit, shit. Not only will Nate be pissed at me for not telling him what's going on with my dad, he'll hate me even more for drinking.

"The whole sex thing I can understand – you were raped; it wasn't your choice – but drinking was an option. You can have stopped it, Shane!" Nate scolds me.

"AND YOU DON'T THINK I KNOW THAT?!" I scream at the top of my lungs.

Nate looks taken aback.

I take in a deep breath and slowly let it out, shakily. I don't think I've ever yelled that loudly in my life.

Fuck.

Drinking, sex, lying, yelling, waking up in different places from where I fell asleep…

I'm turning into my dad.

**A\N: If you haven't already read my new story, "Elvis" please go read and review! It's about Nick's dog, and it's in Elvis's point of view!**


	21. Not While I'm Around

Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The next time I wake up, it's because Jason is talking. I open my eyes, even though I'm as tired as fuck, and turn over to face him. He's on the phone with someone. He looks over at me and immediately shuts his phone.

"Shane!" he exclaims and then scoops me up into his arms.

I slowly pat him on the back. "There, there…"

He pushes me away and has me look him in the eyes. (Ohmigosh, what's with the Jonas Brothers titles? And I didn't even do that on purpose.) "Shane, I was so worried about you."

"Well, I'm okay now," I say with a slight smile. He still looks worried. "I'm fine!"

Jason sighs. "I'm just glad you didn't die. Do you know what happened mister?"

I shake my head. "Actually, I don't."

"Well I do," he says. "I got a phone call from Nate telling me to go to the hospital because you had overdosed on pills. Then I came here and they had to pump your stomach, which freaked the shit out of me. And so I went home. You practically scared me to death."

I suddenly feel my stomach do a flip-flop. Jason was a very sensitive person and this probably scarred him for life. Fuck. Shit. Ass. Tits. (FSAT) What have I done? "Jase, I'm so, so sorry."

He wipes away a stray tear. "Well I'm just glad you didn't die. That's the most important thing," he hugs me again. "Just please promise me you won't do it again."

I nod. "I promise." I say this with all sincerity because I really won't ever do it again. That's enough alcohol and overdosing for my lifetime.

X X X

Two days later and I'm allowed to leave the hospital. Jason is forcing me to stay at his house for at least a night so that he can keep an eye on me. I'm sleeping in Jason's bed again, and he's now making dinner. Not linner, but actual dinner.

Nate comes in the room. "Hey Shane?"

He awakes me from my slumber, but that's okay because I was gonna get up anyway. I yawn.

"Oh, sorry to wake you."

I shake my head whilst yawning. "It's fine."

He walks in the room. "So, uh, is Kayla coming?"

"No. Why?"

He looks down at the ground. "Because I want to know if I don't have to wear pants tonight."

"Knock yourself out."

"YAY!" he squeals and unzips his pants in front of me, leaving them on the floor. "I'm a free bird!"

Why, yes. That _is_ my crazy best friend running around with no pants on.

I laugh internally at my friend's dorkyness and then get out of bed, putting on some slippers and a robe Jason conveniently set out for me when I was asleep. You gotta love Jason.

I walk out of Jason's huge-ass bedroom and go down the stairs. Nate is playing a new song I haven't heard before on his guitar, and he's rocking out to it. With no pants on. Or a shirt for that matter. I smile.

He's jumping around and sliding on the floor in his socks. It's a pretty heavy metal song, so I know it's not one that he wrote. "COME ON AND GET DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS!" he screeches and goes down to his knees in this cool rocker type thing. But then he stops playing and cries, "Ow! Mother Fucker!" and slowly stands up. He turns to me. "Never do a cool knee slide if you're not wearing long pants, er, no pants." He sits down at the dinner table, rubbing his knees.

I try my hardest not to burst out laughing. I had a sudden flash back to when we went out to eat, and our teachers were sitting outside eating, and we were walking out the door, and Nate slams into the door and screams "FUCK!" at the top of his lungs right in front of them. Yeah, it was pretty crazy.

I sit down at the table with him, and Jason sets some plate of, you guessed it - pasta, right in front of me. It seems like all Jason can make is pasta. And cookies. And those frozen toaster waffles.

I dig in anyway, not caring, and when we're finished eating, we sit down to watch TV. When we're watching Grey's Anatomy – Jason's favourite show – I get so bored.

"I'm bored," I announce and stand up. "I'm gonna go home and check on Kayla. Be back in twenty." I walk out of their house and down the street to my house.

Right as I go through the unlocked door, I hear my sister crying and DA screaming his head off. My heart speeds up so fast, I'm afraid I'm gonna have a stroke. I quickly run into the kitchen as fast as I can and see Kayla crying, DA pointing an accusing finger at her, and glass shattered on the floor.

Gina looks on the verge of tears. "Robert! It's just one glass!"

"SHE FUCKING BROKE THE FUCKING GLASS!" DA screams at the top of his lungs. "THAT'S MY MONEY RIGHT THERE, GOING DOWN THE DRAIN. I WORK SO HARD TO PROVIDE FOOD FOR THIS FAMILY AND WHAT DO YOU GO AND DO? BREAK MY GLASSES?"

"For Christ's sake, Robert, let it go! I got that at Target for five dollars!" Gina defends my little sister.

Kayla sees me and runs over to me, pressing her face into my side, crying.

I wrap my arms around her small body. "What's going on, eh?" I ask looking at my father, who is blind with rage.

He points to the shattered glass. "That little fuck right there broke my glass. MY glass!"

This only makes Kayla sob even harder and she tightens her grip on me.

I scoff. "Seriously? You're yelling at her over a glass?"

"Well all you children do is take, take, take," he rambles on. "You waste my money-"

I cut him off. "Your money? Don't you mean mine?"

He glares at me. "You're not the only one who provides for this family, you know. I go to the office every day and-"

"And come home drunk?" I cut him off. "Yeah. We know." I pick up my sister.

"Shane," my father says, "we need to have a talk."

I shake my head. "No. We don't."

DA gives me that look that says, "If you don't come over here right now, I will track you down and murder you in your sleep."

I take in a deep breath and slowly let it out. I set my sister down. "You know how to get to Jason and Nate's right?" She nods. "Okay, go there. And tell them I'll be right there."

Kayla hugs me before running off.

DA pulls me into the other room. I close my eyes and wait for the pain.


	22. Lucky

Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Mother fucker. FSAT. After DA finished letting his anger out on me, I walk back to Jason and Nate's. More like I awkwardly waddled down the street back to Jason and Nate's.

When I reached the house, I used my key to unlock the door and went inside. All the lights were off, so I assumed everyone was asleep. I went upstairs and heard the faint sound of Jason snoring. I went into my room – yes, they made me my own room in their house – and I lay down in my bed.

What a rough night.

Almost as quickly as it would take me to tie my shoes, I was fast asleep.

X X X

I wake up and see Nate hovering.

Hovering.

Hovering.

I stare at him and he stares back.

"Where'd you go and when'd you get back and why do you have new bruises?"

Wowza, that was a lot of questions.

"I went home… and got back around midnight. And I slipped in the shower before coming here." Speaking of showers, I really need to take one. When was the last time I took one?

Nate nods. "Uh huh… Think of better excuses next time, okay?" He leaves the room.

I get out of bed and head into the bathroom, turning on the hot water. I take off all my clothes and throw them on the floor of the bathroom. I step in the shower and then look down at my stomach and see… Sharpie?

Numbers.

Ten digits.

In a row.

And it's a…

Phone number.

FSAT.

Whose number is that?

Then, it's all suddenly clear to me.

_Before I could even get my shirt on, the girl comes up to me. "Shane? Shane, why are you leaving me?" _

_I scoff. "Bitch."_

_She shakes her head. "No, no, no. You can not just leave."_

_I stare at her and button my pants. _

_The girl grabs a sharpie off of the side table and starts writing on my stomach. "Call me. Please." _

_I stand there like an idiot and let her write on me. Then I leave. _

The girl. THAT'S THE GIRL! Girl… rape… number… Demetria!

Holy shit.

Holy Jesus Christ Monkey Balls.

My library pen pal raped me?

What has this world come to?

I turn off the shower and grab a fluffy towel from the towel rack. (Ha ha, rack. You don't get it because you don't have a dirty mind like I do.) I dry myself off and then grab my phone, calling the number.

It's ringing…

And ringing…

And…

_"You've reached Mitchie Torres. If you don't know what to do at the beep, I can't help you."_

I hang up before the beep.

So Mitchie Torres, eh? I think I'm going to have to go to the library and talk to this Mitchie chick… bitch… whatever.

Bitchy Mitchy.

Mitch Bitch.

Mitchy the Bitchy.

How many more swear words can I combine with her name?

Let's see…

Meh, I got nothing.

I put on some clothes and head downstairs. When I get down there, I see Kayla jumping on the couch watching the Wiggles and Nate making scrambled eggs. No Jason in sight. "Where's Jason?" I ask, walking into the kitchen.

Nate turns to me. "Oh, he has the flu or some shit like that."

"Well is he okay?"

He shrugs and put some eggs on a plate.

I suddenly feel the urge to go and take care of him. After all, he took care of me when I was sick. I go back upstairs and knock on his door before entering.

Jason looked like a giant lump in the middle of the bed.

I walk over to him. "Jase?"

I'm replied with a "Ummhhph."

"Are you okay?"

"Ummph."

"Well I'm gonna take care of you. What do you need?"

"You don't have to do that," he says, his voice sounds muffled by all the blankets and pillows he's under.

"Yeah, well you took care of me, so I'm gonna do the same for you."

"You are too kind, Shane."

"What are friends for?" I grab the whistle and put it by him. "If you need anything, just whistle." I smile even though he can't see me and I walk out of his room, shutting the door gently behind him.

I go downstairs and see Kayla and Nate eating eggs.

"And that's how I got attacked by a mountain lion and survived," Nate says, shoving some eggs in his mouth.

Kayla's eyes widen. "No way!"

Nate nods. "And it's all true."

"Wow, Nate! You're so heroic!"

I sit down at the table. "What are you guy talkin' 'bout?" I ask nosily.

"Mountain lions," Nate says, his mouth full.

I nod slowly. "I see…"

I hear the whistle and I leave the table, going upstairs. Jason is sitting on the bed.

"Yes?" I ask, approaching him.

"Can you get me some soup or something?" he asks.

I smile. "Sure."

I head downstairs and Nate is hooking up his guitar to his amp. He starts playing a song I recognize, but can't name it…

I start making some soup and Nate starts singing.

"Early mornin', she wakes up. Knock, knock, knock on her door," he sings.

Britney Spears. Lucky.

"And they say, she's so lucky. She's a star. But she cries, cries, cries in her lonely heart. Thinking, if there's nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?"

Kayla starts clapping and singing along.

I smile watching the two.

"And the world in spinnin', and she keeps on winnin'. But tell me, what happens when it stops?"

If there's nothing that's missing in my life… then why _do_ these tears come at night? I stand here making soup whilst pondering this.

I begin to think… I'm rich and famous. I got everything in the world I could possibly want. But, then again, I have my dad. So am I really one of the lucky ones?


	23. Hold On

Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

A week later and Jason is back to his normal, dorky self. Kayla and I are still living at Nate and Jason's house. We haven't gone back. I guess, technically, we've run away. But I haven't called Mitchie.

I don't know what to do. Should I call her? Should I talk to her? What do I do?

While I'm pacing the floor of my bedroom, Nate knocks on my door.

"Come in," I say and stop walking around aimlessly.

"Hey," he greets, walking over to me, and he sits down on my bed. "So are you ever gonna tell me why you refuse to go home and what happened that one night when I found you practically dead?"

I don't say anything and Nate rolls his eyes.

Jason pops his head in the room. "Hey, I'm going to the grocery store. Be back in twenty."

I wave bye, but Nate stares at me. I stare back and then stand up, walking away.

"Real friends don't keep secrets!" Nate calls out after me.

I turn around. "How many times do we have to go over this?" I bark. "I'm not gonna tell you, so get over it!"

Nate scoffs. "Fine! He storms out of my room and slams the door.

"Ugh!" I yell and throw a pillow at the door. I sit on my bed and close my eyes. This has been the same for about a week – Nate would ask me about DA, and I would tell him that I couldn't tell him, and then he would storm off and I would be pissed. Of course, we always are friends again in the end, but it sucks to be fighting with your best friend.

I lie down in my bed and think about what just happened. Gah, I really need some emo music. I hop out of bed and log onto my computer. I pull up my iTunes playlist I labeled "Emo Music" and play the first track. I lay back down on my bed after turning off the lights and pull the covers over my head.

X X X

When I wake up, it hasn't even been thirty minutes. That was probably the shortest nap I think I've ever taken.

I walk downstairs and Kayla is watching Clifford The Big Red Dog. I look around and don't see Nate. "Where's Nate?" I ask.

Kayla shrugs. "I dunno. He just kinda ran off somewhere."

"Did he say where?"

"No. He just said 'oh shit' and ran."

"Well did he say anything else?"

"Nope."

That's weird… I sit down on the couch and watch the TV show for about a minute and then my phone rings. I run over to the kitchen table and answer it. It's Nate. "Hello?"

"Why haven't you answered your phone?!" Nate practically screams at me.

"I was sleeping. Why?"

His tone is softer when he says, "It's Jason. He's been in a car crash and I don't think he's gonna make it."

"What?! Where are you!?" My heart beats faster.

"The hospital. Come quick."

I hang up and throw my phone somewhere. I probably just broke it but that doesn't even matter right now. "Kayla, come with me."

Kayla turns off the TV and we both run out the door. I still can't drive, nor do I have a car, so we run – yes, we ran – to the hospital.

"Where are we going?" Kayla asks, out of breath.

I stop running for a second. "To the hospital. Kayla, Jason's hurt really badly."

Her eyes widen. "Is he gonna be okay?"

I shake my head. "I don't know." I take her hand and we go to the hospital, going through the emergency room entrance. Right as we walk inside, I see Nate looking over at me. "What happened?" I ask.

Nate puts his hands on my shoulders. "Shane, don't freak out, okay? Jason was hit by a drunk diver and-"

I cut him off before he could say anything else and race over to one of the rooms. There are windows for some unknown reason – like who the hell puts windows in these rooms? – and I look through one of them.

There, I see Jason on a bed with all this medical crap. There was blood everywhere and a bunch of doctors were crowding around him. One of them was doing CPR on him.

I stand there in a silent shock. I can't move or breathe. I can't blink. I can't talk. I stand there watching.

The doctor sighs and then stops doing CPR. She looks over at the monitor and closes her eyes, shaking her head. I hear a continuous beeping noise and my eyes widen. I put my hands on the glass.

"No, no, no, no," I say rapidly. I shake my head. "NO! JASON! JASON!" I start sobbing and hit my fist on the window. "JASON! PLEASE! NO!" I close my eyes and hang my head. Tears stream out my eyes, but I don't bother to do anything about it.

My eyes shoot open and I catch my breath as I realize I'm in my bed. I look around. The hospital's gone and I'm sitting in Jason and Nate's house.

"Guys! I'm home!"

It was Jason.

So that was all a nightmare.

I feel relieved, but my heart is still racing. I throw the covers off and head downstairs. Jason is carrying in grocery store bags and he sets them down on the counter.

Nate sees me and looks the other way. I scoff and cross my arms.

Jason looks over at us. "Oh my god, are you guys fighting again?"

We stay silent.

"Seriously?" he asks. "Well you know you're gonna have to work it out or you won't get to stay in my house."

Silence. Well, Nate scoffs, but other than that it was silent.

"Fine then," Jason says, nearing us. "Get out of my house." He pulls us outside and slams the door once we're out on the porch, locking it. Then, he opens the door again and throws some coats at us, then locks the door again.

We both put on a coat.

I look at Nate. "Want to go CVS and work it out?"

Nate shrugs. "Whatever."

We walk down the porch steps and walk down the street. It had just snowed and the sidewalk was slippery. "Be careful of the black ice," I tell Nate.

"Yeah, I don't need you to tell me that," he sneers.

"Okay, seriously?" I stop walking.

Nate, who was a couple feet ahead, turns around. "What?"

I walk up to him and we continue walking. "Stop being like this."

"Like what?"

"Like the way you always are when we fight. Stop being so irrational!" We turn the corner.

"You're the one who's being irrational!"

"Me? How am I irrational?"

"Well what the hell is so big of a secret that you can't even tell your best friend?"

"Maybe I'd tell you if you weren't so pushy!"

"Fine." He puts his hand up defensively. "I won't be pushy anymore."

We walk in silence for about a minute and reach the CVS parking lot.

"So are you gonna tell me now?" he asks.

"Pushy!" I yell. We walk to the entrance.

"Okay. That's it. I'm done with th-" He's cut off when he slips and falls. "OW!" He groans and closes his eyes. "Ow, ow, ow, ow. Damn black ice."

I smirk. "I don't want to say you deserved that… but you deserved that."

He lets out a huff of laughter. "Whatever. Help me up, you asshole. And I say that will all the love in the world, really."

I extend my arm for him, but then retract it and look up when I hear something cracking. Above me there are some huge – ass icicles.

It seems to happen in slow-mo. One of the icicles breaks off. It falls. And impales Nate right in the stomach. He gasps.

My eyes widen. "Okay, so you didn't deserve that!" I look around and don't see anyone in the deserted parking lot. "Don't move; I'm gonna get some help." I run into the CVS, leaving my best friend lying on the ground with an icicle stuck in him.


	24. Bottom Of The Ocean

Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

I go in the ambulance with Nate. When we arrive at the hospital, they lay him on a bed and then start talking about what they should do. One of the doctors cuts his shirt off and they give him some morphine so he's not in pain anymore.

Nate and I are listening intently to what they are talking about.

"What do we do?"

"CT?"

"No, MRI."

"Are you kidding me? We can't get him in there with that icicle in him."

"Let it melt?"

"Portable x-ray!"

Nate and I look at each other. The people are obviously noobs.

"Uhh, I think you should just yank it out," Nate suggests.

One of them turns to him. "Well we don't know if the icicle has hit any organs unless we look for any internal injuries first. And if you have internal injuries, you could bleed out."

Nate nods slowly. "I think… you should just yank it out."

I laugh a bit. Nate is always irrational. He's a Taurus, that's why.

All of the doctors' pagers go off and they excuse themselves, leaving Nate, the icicle, and me.

Nate looks at me a bit and then starts laughing. "How crazy is this?"

I shrug. "Pretty crazy."

"I know I'm never gonna look at icicles the same way again."

We both stay silent for a moment, but then burst out laughing.

"Ow, it hurts to laugh," Nate complains and stops laughing.

"I'm sorry," I say trying to control my laughter.

Suddenly, we hear someone coming in the room. It's Jason. He stares at Nate in horror. "SHIT! NATE!! You don't have a shirt on!"

Nate's jaw drops and he stares at him.

Yeah, Jason is kind of a dumbshit.

"What?" Jason asks with a shrug.

"Jason? Jason, where are you?" It's Kayla. She peeks her head into the room. "There you guys are! Jason, why did you run off without me?" She walks in the room. "Nate? Is that you?"

Nate nods.

Kayla studies him for a good bit. "What's with the icicle?"

X X X

Two hours later and we're still here. Nate still has the freakin' icicle in him. My question is why it hasn't melted. Nate has gone into bitch mode. He started yelling at everyone.

I get up to go get a snack in the vending machine. I got some Cheetos. "What's up?" I ask when I get back in the room.

"Just sittin' here with my icicle…" Nate sighs. "That's it. If they don't take this fucking thing out of me in the next ten minutes, I'll take it out myself!"

One of the doctors comes back in the room. "Good news. We found no internal injuries and we can take it out now."

Nate's jaw drops. "OH. MY. GOD. So we waited two hours for test results for nothing? So you're telling me that you found no injuries? And I'm totally fine? "

He nods.

Nate turns to me. "You hear that Shane? I'm totally fine." He pauses and turns back to the doctor. "Well I could have told you that!" Nate yells. "What the hell's wrong with you people?"

The doctor ignores his bitch brigade and puts some gloves on. He walks over to us. "I'm sorry you had to wait so long," he says and then yanks the damn thing out of Nate with one swift motion.

Nate screams, totally not expecting that to happen. "FUCK! SHIT! ASS! TITS!"

"It hurts less if you don't see it coming," the doctor says and starts stitching Nate up.

Nate is still trying to catch his breath. "Holy shit dude."

I nod in agreement.

When Nate has his stitches in, we're allowed to leave and we go back to his house. Jason and Kayla are inside. They're both laughing. I look in the living room and Jason is wearing a Hannah Montana wig.

Kayla turns to me. "Shane! I'm gonna be Hannah Montana for Halloween!"

Nate scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Oh my god…" he walks up the stairs. "Excuse me while I go barf my guts out."

"You get the best of both worlds!" Kayla sings in here cute little kid voice. Jason hops up and grabs his guitar. He starts playing the theme song to the show, and Kayla starts singing.

I sit there and watch them. Kayla totally fucks up all the lyrics, but it's not like it matters or anything.

Once they're done, Kayla bows. "Thank you Westwood! Good night!" She starts laughing when Jason gets down on his knees and does a hard rock edition of Best Of Both Worlds. She turns to me. "Shane, I _have_ to show you my costume!" She rummages through a Party City bag and gets a costume out of the bag.

Kayla goes into the bathroom and changes into it.

I look over at Jason. "So are you gonna be Hannah Montana too?" I ask, pointing to the wig he's sporting.

Jason shrugs. "I dunno."

Kayla comes out wearing the sparkly outfit. "I'm Hannah Montana!" she squeals.

A faint "UGHHHH!" is heard from upstairs.

Jason starts hopping up and down. "OOH! OOH!! I'm gonna be Jason Addison for Halloween!"

I stare at him for a second. "You _are_ Jason Addison."

He shakes his head. "No. I just have a really good costume."

I stand there confused for a second. "Be someone else."

He thinks for a moment. "Hmm… How about if I be Nate? Then I could pretend that I'm dating you, Hannah!"

Kayla squeals. "YEAH!"

"That is so illegal… You do realize that you're eighteen and Kayla is five?" I question. "But whatever. It will get Nate's knickers in a knot and that will be funny."

X X X

"YOU'RE BEING ME, AND SHE'S BEING THAT SLUT?!" Nate is appalled on Halloween when we tell him what we have had planned for a week.

I nod and put on my John McCain mask. "Shut up and put on your mask."

Nate is going to be Sarah Palin and I'm McCain.

Nate scoffs and puts on his mask. "I still don't understand why _I_ have to be the bitch."

"Because you… are very bitchy, my friend," I say and pat him on his back.

"Bitch doesn't even believe in global warming, what the hell's wrong with her?"

I shake my head slowly. "I don't know… and to think, she's gonna be our vice president. What a fucktard."

"Sarah Palin taught me only one thing," Nate says.

"And what would that be?" I ask.

"She taught me that even complete retards can become the vice president of the United States of America. Hell, I bet Jason could be a better VP than her, and Jason has an IQ of twenty."

Jason looks up with the mention of his name. "What?"

'"I said," Nate starts, "it was sunny out last night."

"Oh it was?" Jason asks.

Nate nods slowly. "Yeah…"

"Well we better go get a start on this trick or treating before it becomes light again after it gets too dark!" Jason exclaims.

Nate's jaw drops. "That didn't make any sense what so ever."

"What are you talking about?" Jason asks. "It was perfectly sensible!" He laughs a bit. "And you call me stupid. You are such a maroon."

"You hear that, Shane? I'm a maroon." Nate whispers to me with a hint of amusement in his voice.

I try my hardest not to burst out laughing.

Kayla grabs a pillowcase. "TRICK OR TREATING!" she squeals and jumps up and down.

We all grab our trick-or-treat bags which are pillowcases (they carry the most candy) and I leave a bowl of candy out before we all shuffle out and I lock the door.

All four of us walk down our street, getting candy from all the houses. The nice thing about Halloween is that even if you're famous, just wear a mask and you won't get trampled to death.

We go to one house that has a McCain Palin sign in the yard. We ring the doorbell and a lady answers. She laughs. "McCain and Palin! What a surprise!"

Nate nods enthusiastically. "Yeah! I'm Sarah Palin! I like to kill polar bears and contribute to global warming by continuing the war in Iraq!"

The woman stares at us for a bit and then slowly shuts the door.

Nate turns to me. "Wow. How rude."

We go on to the next house and then end up at a place that looks so familiar.

That's cause it's my house.

Gee, when was the last time I was here? Like a month ago?

Kayla runs up the steps, obviously not realizing that this is our house – it's dark; I don't blame her – and I run after her.

Gina answers the door with a warm smile. She holds out a bowl of candy and Kayla grabs a handful. Gina laughs a bit. "You're just like my husband's little girl was."

I walk up the stairs – John McCain mask and all – and look at Gina. She's wearing a Halloween costume and sporting a huge belly. "Why are you dressed like a pregnant person? Or are you just fat?" I ask ever so rudely. I forgot that she doesn't know it's me. I bet she must be thinking I'm a real asshole right now.

She looks taken a back. "I really am pregnant."

"WHAT?!" I can't believe it.

Gina nods and smiles. "Due in January."

My jaw drops. I begin to fan myself. "Fuck, shit, ass, tits! FUCK, SHIT, ASS, TITS!"

"Excuse me?" Gina asks.

"YOU'RE FUCKING PREGNANT?!" I screech. "Gina, You're not supposed to… I can't have… No, no, no."

She looks very confused. "Do I know you, kid?"

I take off the mask and she gasps. "Shane? Kayla? I thought you guys died!"

"You thought we died?!"

"Yeah! You never came back!"

"And you didn't go looking for us?!"

"No! Because I thought you were dead!"

"What? That is the most bullshit reason I have ever heard!"

"Well what can I say?" She pauses for a moment. "Are you guys going to come home, then?"

"No! I like living with Jason and Nate! Kayla and I are happy on our own!"

"Young man, I am still your legal guardian, and I say you come home right now."

"I am not moving back with dad! Not with his condition!"

I might as well just blurt it out because Jason and Nate already ran off to the next house.

Gina softens a bit. "He's changed."

I scoff. "Yeah. That's what you always say."

She shakes her head. "He's been going to AA meetings. He's clean. He hasn't had a drink in a whole month."

I ponder this for a moment but then close my eyes and shake my head.

"I don't believe you," I whisper.

And we walk away.

The eighth crime: I'm going to be a big brother. Again. And I'll have to protect him or her from DA.


	25. Don't Walk Away

Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Kayla and I catch up with Nate and Jason about twenty minutes later. I run up to Nate, out of breath and hold on to his shoulder to catch him, whist leaning over and catching my breath.

He turns around and looks at me like I'm insane. "Where the hell did you go?" he asks.

"Where the hell did you go?" I ask back. "We turned our backs for like two seconds and you ran off!"

Nate scoffs. "Whatever, man!"

We continue trick or treating, and then eventually wind up at Jason and Nate's house. We all are exhausted by the time we get back, and we all go into the living room. We all sit in a circle and dump our pillowcases of candy out in a pile in front of us.

"Who want to trade me for three Snickers?" Nate asks, holding up three of those fun-sized Snickers bars.

You know what I don't get? Why is it called "fun-sized"? Like, what's so fun about having less candy?

I toss him an Almond Joy. He looks at it and sneers. "Fuck Almond Joy. Give me something good." He throws it back at me.

It hits me in the face and I scoff. "Hey! That hurt!" I set the candy down to the left of me.

He ignores me. "Does anyone have anything better than an Almond Joy?"

I toss him a Kit-Kat. He smiles and tosses me the Snickers.

By the end of the night, we all have the candy we like… except these dreaded Almond Joys. Apparently, no one likes those. So how in the world did we manage to get thirty of them?

"No body wants these?" Nate asks, holding up a handful of Almond Joys.

We all shake our heads.

"Well fuck these!" Nate exclaims and tosses it. It hits Jason and he cries out in pain, over exaggerating the whole entire thing.

Jason rolls over onto his side, and pulls his knee up to his chest. "Ahh! It hurts!"

Nate rolls his eyes. "Come on man. I hit your knee. With a piece of candy."

He scoffs. "It still hurt!" Jason takes like five and chucks them at Nate.

"Ow! Mother fucker!" Nate yells.

"Ha!" Jason exclaims, with a smile, pointing at Nate. "It _does_ hurt!"

Nate narrows his eyes and throws all of his at Jason. A couple of them hit me, and I scoff while Jason screams like a little girl and gets up, running away.

Okay, so that did hurt.

I take mine and toss them at Nate. One of him hits him in the side of his head and one nabbed his ear. Nate picks up the ones I just threw and chucks them back at me. Jason comes over and pushes him to the ground.

"Okay, that was just rude," Nate says as he stands up. He takes some of the candy and throws it back at Jason, pelting him a couple times.

"This means war!" Jason exclaims and throws all of the Almond Joys at Nate. A couple of them hit the wall and make a rather loud crashing noise.

Kayla screams and runs up the stairs.

I get involved. I have a couple of my own, so I throw them across the room, hoping to hit one of them.

After about two minutes, we get bored. Shows how ADD we are.

X X X

The next day when we're eating lunch, I say, "We should have a party."

Jason raises his eyebrows. "What kind of party?"

I shrug. "A birthday party. For Kayla. Her birthday is in three weeks."

Kayla's face lights up. "Wait, for me? Seriously?"

I nod and she jumps up and down happily.

"Dude, we should like invite everyone," I add. "Like all the famous people. We kind of disappeared from the media for a while and it would be nice to see our friends."

Nate looks at me. "What friends? You guys are my only friends."

"Wha?" I ask, scoffing. "What about Aly and AJ and Selena? And Demi? I thought they were your friends."

He ponders this for a moment. "Oh. Yeah. I forgot about them."

"Wow. You are such a great friend," I say with a hint of amusement in my voice.

"When are we gonna have this party?" Nate asks.

Jason starts getting really excited. "Let's have the party next week!"

"That'd work," Nate says.

"And we can invite a shit load of people and perform some new songs!" he adds. "I'll go make reservations and call people!" Jason races off to god knows where.

Nate smiles. "Let's get to work."

By the end of the night, we have all the plans. It's going to be next Saturday at the Ritz hotel in Quebec. Everyone is coming… Well, we're not sure about Britney. We called her, but she didn't answer. But Paris, Lindsay, Samantha, Nicole are coming. All of the Disney stars are coming – except that two-faced (literally) Miley \ Hannah. (Hell, she didn't invite us to her sweet sixteen!) We even got Melissa Torgerson, Blake Olvera, and Louisa Jackson–Young to come!

Is it okay that I'm uber excited for this party?

X X X

The next week, all we did was plan the party. I bought Kayla a blue and pink Jessica McClintoc dress and we bought a giant birthday cake. Everything is going to be pink and blue. (Don't ask. She picked out the colours.)

But guess what? Now it's the night of the party (I know; time flies fast, eh?) and Kayla is parading around in her new dress. Jason and Nate are still getting ready, and I'm going over the new song in my head again. _I'm just a screw up, trying to get to the world, not messin' with a beautiful girl. Drop that smile, turn around and leave me here to walk and fade away. _

Don't ask me… Nate wrote it. I just sing it. It's going to be the first time we've ever performed it and I'm nervous.

When Nate comes downstairs, I turn to him. "Nate, I think we should practice 'When I See You Smile' and 'Music Man' again."

He shakes his head. "We've rehearsed it more than enough times. Gee, since when did you get nervous?"

"Well we haven't done a show in like… forever."

"Then this is our comeback!" he exclaims, putting his arm around me. He looks suddenly serious and turns to me. "So don't fuck it up."

"Great pep talk…" I mutter sarcastically.

"That's why I'm here," he says and grabs an apple off of the counter, eating it. "Damn, these McIntosh apples sure are the shit. It's a shame that they only come in the fall."

I nod and walk over to him. "Put the produce down, and let's go to the party."

With just hearing that word, Kayla squeals and jumps up in the air. "Party!" she exclaims.

Jason comes downstairs. "Okay, let's roll. The limo should be here."

We all head off outside; Jason locks the door before we hop in the super long limo that was waiting for us. When we get to the hotel, we see a mob scene.

I look out my tinted window and see fans holding up posters lined up on the streets. Since when did the word got out about the party? Oh yeah, it was me that told everyone. I am such a blabbermouth.

So I give the fans what they want. I open the sky roof and stick my head out. Everyone goes crazy and I wave. "Hi!" I say, but I don't think anyone heard me.

When I stand on the expensive leather seats peering out at my fans and hear them scream, it reminds me how much I missed them. Man, I'm such a horrible person deserting my fans like that. I blow kisses and I think a few people faint.

The limo stops and we get a police escort into the hotel. They have such tight security here – it's probably because practically every famous singer is going to be here right now. Even Britney Spears is here! Yeah, Britney and me go way back. Dudes, I met her like a month ago and we just clicked. B.F.Fs for L right there.

At the party, we're like the last to arrive – which is weird because we're the hosts and it's our party – and I spot Lindsay Lohan with her girlfriend at a table. Remind me to go say hi.

Someone comes up to me and does that weird French kiss-kiss thing. "Darling, we must catch up later," she says.

Okay, who the hell is this person, and why is she kissing me? Whatever. I don't know a lot of people. (Jason and Nate invited everyone and they have some pretty weird friends.)

We partied for two hours, but all I could think about was the performance. Sure, I've performed for an audience before, but not only is this our comeback, but _everyone_ is here.

When it was finally time to perform, I was practically shaking. Nate grabs his guitar. He looks over at me. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

I shake a bit to snap out of it. "Maybe I have," I say to myself.

The audience hushes and the lights turn off. Three spotlights are shining down on the stage and Jason starts playing the intro. It's fast and catchy and we all run on at the same time, going under our spotlights.

"Trying so hard, but I think you're gonna leave me," I start singing. "I know I'm a fool, but baby gotta let me think…" I trial off. What the fuck did I just say? "But when I see your smile, you're not looking at me," I continue even though I totally just screwed up big time just then. I look over and Nate is giving me a weird look saying, 'How the hell could you mess up my lyrics you fucktard?' "When I hear your words. But you not getting to me. I'm just a screw up, trying to get to the world, not messin' with a beautiful girl. Drop that smile, turn around and leave me here to walk and fade away. Fade away, fade away…"

I look down at the audience and freeze up for a second when I could swear I saw… DA? I blink and look back. It's just David Archuleta. Since when does DA look like David Archuleta?

Jason plays the intro to the next song. I snap out of my trance. "This song is dedicated to all those children who lost music in their hearts," I say and start singing 'Music Man.'

Whoa, whoa! Hold the show! David Archuleta's initials are DA! I'm freaking out right now because that's just so weird!

I continue singing. I start jumping up and down, but time stops when I swear I saw Mitchie Torres standing there. But guess what? It's Melissa Torgerson.

What is up with me and then initials thing? I think her middle name is… Danielle.

FSAT. Initials… I think I'm going crazy.

I stop singing. Nate looks over at me and takes over. I freeze up and gently strum my guitar, not thinking at all. It was like in Freaky Friday when Lindsay – well, the mum – was like on stage and she didn't know how to play and she was playing all this random shit. Yeah, that's what I was doing.

I have a sudden flash back to those horrible nights.

_"You little fuck!" DA yells as he slaps me across the face. "You got it wrong again! I wanted the Coors, not this shit!" He kicks me and I fall to the floor. _

_Mitchie walks up to me and lifts my shirt off. "Lord, Shane. You have quite an amazing body, honestly." She exhales and her breath smells like alcohol and vomit. _

_"What the hell's wrong with you, boy?!" My father punches me in the stomach. _

_"Shane, you're so sexy," Mitchie says, licking her lips. _

_"You little fuck!!"_

_"Sexy can I?"_

_I fall to the ground with the empty pill bottle in my hands. _

It all flashes before my eyes and I close my eyes for but a moment, getting all those bad thoughts out.

"I am a lost soul, but girl, I'll be a music man," Nate sings. He and Jason play the last chords and everyone starts cheering. We all bow and blow kisses.

Right as we head off stage, Nate hits me lightly. "What the hell was that?" he asks, scoffing.

"I'm sorry I just-" He cuts me off.

"Whatever, man. I hope you realize that everyone who's anyone was out there watching you make a fool of yourself." Nate shakes his head and walks away disappointed.

I stand there and someone hands me a water bottle. I chug it and throw it on the floor.

Our show was the end of the party, so everyone started leaving. Kayla, Jason, Nate, and I were the last to leave. It was well past midnight and boy were was I tired.

Jason and Kayla got in the limo, but Nate stopped me from going in the limo. "Shane, you and I are walking home so we can talk about this," he says. He closes the door to the limo.

I sigh. Nate is the boss of me even though I'm older than he is. The limo drives away and Nate and I start walking back home.

"Dude, what the hell happened back there?" he asks and we walk.

I shrug. "I just kinda zoned out."

"Why?"

"I was thinking of stuff…"

"I think now would be a good time to explain everything."

"Explain what?"

"Everything. Start at the beginning. Why did you disappear for a month about three months ago?"

"I lost my phone, remember?"

"Well you would have found it in a month."

"Yeah, well maybe I didn't want to buy a new phone."

"Maybe you didn't want someone getting in your dirty laundry."

"What?"

"I think you're hiding something." Nate stops walking for effect and turns to me being all serious. "What are you hiding?"

"I'm gay," I remark sarcastically and keep on walking.

Nate rolls his eyes. "This is a serious matter right here."

We turn the corner. Oh. Shit. Right in front of me is the bar my dad always goes to. Er, used to. He's clean, remember?

"I do understand that it's serious," I continue. "But maybe I don't want to tell you."

Nate raises his eyebrows. "Now you got me curious. What could possibly be so juicy and secretive that even though I've been bothering you about it for three months, you still refuse to tell me? Did you kill someone?"

"No!" I defend.

"I understand if it was an accident; I've done it too."

I stop walking.

"Just kidding," he laughs and we keep walking.

"Shane!" I hear someone calling my name.

It's DA.

My father stumbles up to us.

"You little fuck!" he yells in his drunken voice. I flinch. "Where the hell have you been, boy? We all thought you died!"

I don't move. I don't talk. I don't breathe.

Nate turns to me, sending me a silent signal. I don't know what he's trying to say, but it doesn't seem good.

My father puts his hands on my shoulders. "You little fuck! You had me worried sick, what the hell's wrong with you?" He slaps me across the face as hard as he can. I try my hardest not to scream.

Secret's out. Nate just saw that and his mouth just flew open.

DA kicks me. "What the hell's wrong with you, you little fuck!" I fall to the floor and he keeps kicking me. Then he walks away.

I lay there on the ground for a bit, my suit has a rip in it. Nate just stares at me in awe.

"Shane," he whispers. "What was that?"


	26. We're All In This Together

Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

I stand there in shock. What do I do? What do I say?

"Shane," he repeats, only louder this time. "What just happened?"

My mouth opens, but no words come out.

Nate does his infamous stare down.

"You can't tell anyone," I whisper. "Not a soul. Not even Jason."

Nate's jaw drops. "If that was what I thought it was, then you should really call the cops!"

I shake my head. "I can't call the cops because then Gina will take all of my money. Besides, I live with you now, so it doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter?" Nate asks. "It _does_ matter. If he's been doing this for a while – which I guess he has, then he deserves to go to prison." He gasps here. "Wait a second! It's all clear to me now! Like when we found you half-dead and why you have so many bruises. Shane… was that from him?"

I don't say anything.

"Then it was! It was!"

I put my hand over his mouth because he's being really loud. "Shh… Not so loud!"

"He didn't hurt Kayla, did he?"

"No!" I exclaim. "He'd never hurt Kayla… Just me."

"Why you? What'd you do?"

I shrug.

"Well there has to be a reason."

"Because he's a horrible, horrible man, that's why."

"Other than that."  
"Because," I pause here for emphasis, "he's Drunken Asshole, that's why. He and Gregory are a team."

"Gregory? You mean your cousin?"

"Half brother."

"Same thing. Gregory – wasn't he that guy that beat me up?"

"Yeah."

"I hate that douche!"

"Yeah, and I hate him too. And, he likes American football."

"Ew."

"I know. Tell me about it."

Nate closes his eyes and shakes his hands like a maniac. "Anyway, anyway. So can you like start at the beginning. Tell me everything."

"Um… no."

"Well I already can guess some stuff, so you might as well tell me so I don't get the wrong idea and think that your dad like raped you or something… speaking of which, did you ever find out who raped you?"

I nod.

"Who?" If he were sitting in a chair, he probably would have fallen out of it… If that made any sense.

"My library pen pal."

"Who?"

"Can I explain to you when we get home?" I point to our – and yes, I say our because I've officially moved in – house that's a few yards away.

When we get back home, we go into my room and lock the door - which could have been a dirty, sexual thing, but it isn't.

And I tell Nate everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything.

Nate is speechless. He stares at me like a complete retard.

I nod. "Yeah…"

"Oh my gosh, you know what? Your life would be a good Desperate Housewives plot line," Nate says, trying to bring some humour in this serious situation.

I stifle a laugh. "Yeah. I guess."

"So when should we tell Jason?"

"Umm… Never?"

"Well he has to know!"

"No, he doesn't."

Nate rolls his eyes. "Fine then."

There's a knock on the door and we both turn to see who it is.

"Guys!" Jason exclaims from outside. "We got invited to some High School Musical thing!"

I hop off my bed and unlock the door, opening it. Jason hands me an invitation. It's some sort of pep rally thing.

"Dude! Let's go!" Nate exclaims.

Kayla comes running up the stairs. "Wait, are we gonna go?" she asks excitedly.

"Yeah," I tell her.

She squeals. "Awesome! I've always wanted to meet the High School Musical people!"

I raise my eyebrows. "They were at your party."

Her jaw drops. "_They were_?"

I nod and she screeches and falls to the ground. "What?! No way! Hold me, hold me!"

I pick her back up.

She looks around a bit. "The East High Wildcats were at my party… I gotta go call someone! Quick! What's Jimmy's number?"

"Jimmy who?" I ask.

"Uh… I don't know. I don't think I know a Jimmy."

"Call Tally."

"Good idea!" My sister races down the stairs. The she runs back up. "What's Tally's number?"

After I tell her the number, she runs back downstairs.

I yawn. "Tired," I announce.

"Hey, what'd you get Kayla for her birthday?" Nate asks.

I smile. "A puppy."

Nate scoffs. "No! You can't have a better present than me!"

"What'd you get her?" I ask.

"An iPhone!"

I laugh. "Ha! Puppy trumps iPhone!"

"That's not necessarily true."

"It is if you're six years old."

"Damn it!"

We both turn to Jason. "What'd you get her?" I ask.

"A Prius," he says.

What. A. Dumbass. "Jason – she's six. Not sixteen."

He shrugs. "Your point?"

"She can't drive, you dumb stupid cunt!" I exclaim.

Jason stares stupidly at me. "I better go return that tomorrow… I hope I can find the receipt."


	27. Happy Birthday, Kayla!

Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Today is Kayla's official birthday. She woke me up by jumping on my bed, chanting, "What'd you get me? Huh? Huh?"

I wake up and it's only eight in the morning. I yawn sleepily. "Go back to bed," I say.

"Can I skip school today since it's my birthday?" she asks.

My eyes shoot open and I look at the clock. School starts at seven forty-five and it's already five past eight. I forgot that it was Monday. I sigh. She's already missed some of it so what the hell. "Only if you leave me alone for another hour."

"Hooray! No school on my birthday!" Kayla runs out of my room.

I end up sleeping until noon and then waking up and going downstairs. Jason is making lunch. I walk over to the kitchen table – pajamas and all – and sit down, putting my head on the table. "Tired," I announce.

Nate stands over me holding a cup of coffee. "It's noon. How can anyone still be tired?" He sits at the table, sipping out of his Cats mug.

"Because some people stay up until five in the morning on Facebook, that's why."

"Then drink some coffee."

"No. Because then I'll be awake. And I want to sleep."

"But that's the whole point of coffee. To not want to sleep anymore."

"Whatever," I mutter.

I close my eyes again, but then they open back up when food is put in front of me. I look at it. It's a plate with a brownie, a cookie, some leftover birthday cake, and two cupcakes.

"Any reason why we're having pudding for lunch?" I ask.

"Because it's Kayla's birthday and that's what she wanted," Jason tells me.

Kayla jumps up a bit in her seat. "Yeah! We're having pudding for breakfast, dinner, and supper! And also pudding!"

"So we're having pudding all day… Great," I say. I turn to Jason. "Can I have like a cucumber or something… you know, something that won't give me a heart attack?"

Jason opens the fridge and throws a whole cucumber at me and it hits the window, falling to the ground. I turn around in my seat and see the cucumber that fell to the ground. "Wow. Just wow. All I can say is wow."

"Missed," Jason says and throws a bag of carrots at me. It hits Nate and he screams.

"Dude! What the fuck?!" Nate gets up and starts chasing Jason around the house.

I grab my cupcake and unwrap the liner that's around it or whatever the hell it is. I eat it while watching Jason and Nate fight.

"When can we open presents?" Kayla asks.

I shrug. "After pudding."

She nods. "Okay. Hurry up and eat."

I laugh a bit. "I meant after supper."

She frowns. "Well since we're having pudding all day long, right when you finish then we can open presents because, technically, it's after pudding."

I stare at her for a bit. "How did you get so smart?"

"It's called school," she says.

Yeah. The thing I don't go to anymore.

Jason and Nate finally stop fighting and they sit down at the table with me, eating their pudding and when we finish, Kayla flies out of her seat.

"Okay! It's after pudding! Let's open presents now!"

I hand my plate to Jason and he gathers the rest of them before grabbing a present from under the couch. "Happy Birthday, Kayla," he says.

It's not a car.

Kayla rips open the present and gasps. I gasp too because sitting in that little blue box is a wedding ring. It's in the shape of a heart and it looks small enough to fit her. She takes it out of the box. "Aww, Jason!"

I stand up in my seat. "You got her a wedding ring?!"

He nods. "Isn't it pretty?"

Kayla puts it on. "Oh, I love it!"

"Dude, people are gonna think she's married!" Nate exclaims.

My sister turns to Jason. "Can I pretend that Mitchel Musso gave this to me and now we're married? Because no offence, I don't want to marry you."

Jason shrugs. "Sure. Whatever. Congrats to the new Mrs. Musso."

Kayla shrieks. "No way! I'm married to Mitchel Musso! He just doesn't know it yet!"

Nate lets out a huff of laughter and hands her his present. "This is way better than being married to Mitchel Musso," he says.

Kayla opens it and smiles when she sees the iPhone. "Awesome. I love you, Nate!"

Everyone turns to me. "My turn now, eh?" I walk down to the first floor and go into the guest room. The puppy was in there and he barks. "Shh," I say and put him in a box. I bring him upstairs and put the box on the table. "Open it."

Kayla takes the top off and screams her head off when as she lifts the little golden retriever out of the box. "You got me a puppy?" She gasps. "It's so-o-o cute! I'm gonna name it Elvis!" She kisses Elvis on his head.

"Puppy trumps iPhone and wedding ring," I say with a hint of amusement in my voice.

Nate looks over at me and narrows his eyes. "I could so get something that's better than a puppy."

"You wanna bet?" I ask.

He nods. "I bet I can find a better present than you – today."

I raise my eyebrows. "Is this a challenge?"

Nate nods.

"You're on," I say and shake his hand.

I look around a bit and then run. I'm going to the mall. There is no way that Nate is going to get a better present than me. Nate starts running after me and we both try to open the door first, but I end up falling over Nate and vice versa. We eventually make it out of the house and I slide down the banister. I jump off and start running down to the mall. Luckily, we live close to the galleria so it will be no problem to find a better present than Nate really quickly.

Oh, hush guys, it's just friendly competition.

But we all know who's going to win.

Me.

Nate is ahead of me when we get in the parking lot. I go downstairs and he goes to the third floor. I walk around the mall and run into Libby Lu's.

"Quick!" I say as I get in there. "I need something a six year old would like!"

A sales woman came up to me. "Well we have some Hannah Montana stuff… Oh my gosh, you're Shane Gray!"

I nod. "I am. But I'm in a hurry. Where's the Hannah stuff? Ooh, this is going to make Nate so mad."

The lady takes me over to a whole section that has Connect Three stuff and also Hannah Montana stuff. I literally laugh out loud when I see a picture of Nate and Miley. I grab a Connect Three backpack, a Hannah Montana Christmas doll thing, and a bunch of Hannah and C3 buttons. I rush over to the counter and pay for it all.

The cashier looks at me. "You're buying your own stuff?"

I shake my head. "It's for my sister. Hey, can you do me a favour?"

She nods and I lean in close. "If Nate comes in here, don't let him buy anything, okay?"

She looks confused. "Why?"

I just laugh and hand her my credit card. "We're having a competition and I'm going to win."

I grab my bag and head off to the next store. Luckily, Limited Too and Build A Bear are right near each other, so I go into Build A Bear. I make a High School Musical bear – it sings Bop To The Top! – and then go into Limited Too.

It's pretty scary in here because I'm everywhere. I grab a ton of sparkly clothes all in Kayla's size. I pay for it all and then rush across the mall to head back home before Nate can get there. But then I see a jewelry store. I back up and walk like a civilized person into the store.

I look around. There are some pretty nice things in here. I was about to get something when I saw Nate and a sales man looking at a diamond tiara.

"You!" I exclaim, pointing an accusing finger at Nate.

He looks up at me and waves. "Hey, girl, hey!"

I walk over to him.

Nate looks at my bags. "What'd you get her?"

"Some awesome stuff. You?"

He smirks. "You know how she's always wanted to be a princess?"

I nod.

"Well I got her a tiara with diamonds and a matching bracelets and a necklace." He holds up a diamond necklace that's in the shape of a 'K'. "She's gonna love it."

I let out a low growl. She _is_ going to love it. I have to think of something better.

I huff before leaving the store. Luckily, there is a Target in this mall, so I head over to it, grabbing a shopping cart. I go straight to the doll section and just shove each and everyone one into my shopping cart. Some people are looking at me like I'm insane – but that's okay.

I grab all the High School Musical, Hannah Montana, and Camp Rock dolls there are. I get two Barbie castles – they are huge – and I have to carry some of the stuff because it doesn't all fit in my cart.

I pay for it all and then do a very white trash thing – I take the shopping cart back to my house and leave it in neighbor's yard. Well, I hate them anyway so it doesn't matter.

Right as I'm putting the cart deviously behind their bushes, I see Nate walking down the street. He only has one bag, but I know what's in it.

I narrow my eyes at him.

We both walk up the stairs to our house together and then open the door. Kayla is laughing and Elvis is barking.

"Kayla!" I call out. "Kayla I got you new presents!"

"Well, I got you better new presents!" Nate says and we both go into the living room.

Jason is sitting on the couch with Elvis and Kayla is looking over at us.

"Okay," I start. "Kayla, you are going to have to make the most important decision of your life right now."

She looks confused. "Umm… okay?"

I give her all the bags – which was a lot, mind you – and she smiles. "You got me dollies?"

I nod and she opens up all the bags – looking very happy, mind you – and then Nate hands her his present.

Right before the opens the boxes she looks at Nate. "Wait, you're not proposing to me, too, right?"

Nate shakes his head.

"Good," she says. "Cause I'm already married to Mitchel Musso." Kayla opens up the present and smiles. Nate helps her put the necklace on, and while she's putting on the bracelet, Nate puts the tiara on her.

"There," Nate starts, "now you're a real princess."

Kayla hugs Nate and me. "Thank you guys so much! This is the best birthday ever!"

"Okay, now down to business," I kill the happy moment. "Who's present do you like better? Your own brother's or Nate's?"

Kayla keeps looking back at all of the presents. "Um…"

**A\N: Ooh!! Who is Kayla gonna pick? In your review, say who you think is gonna win… Who ever guesses correctly gets a virtual cookie! Also, I put up a poll on my profile, so vote on that too! **


	28. Mad Chicken Disease

Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

"Umm…" Kayla says, looking around. "I pick…" She pauses for dramatic effect. I hold my breath. "I pick Mitchel Musso," she says, holding out the wedding ring.

Nate and I both groan with disappointment.

"Does that mean I win?" Jason asks.

Nate nods. "Yeah. I can't believe you won."

Jason smiles. "I won? What did I win?"

"A chicken," Nate replies sarcastically. He walks down to his own section of the house.

Kayla looks at all her presents. "Wow, this was the best birthday ever! Not only did Mitchel Musso propose to be, but I also got a bunch of dollies, a puppy, a cell phone _and_ I'm a princess! Now I just need a throne…" She grabs a chair from the formal room and drags it into the kitchen.

I shake my head. "This is just… disappointing." I walk up to my room and go on Facebook until two in the morning again. It's amazing how fast time flies when you're on the computer.

X X X

The next day, I hear an alarm clock going off at six. I groan. Four hours of sleep is not enough. I go back to sleep.

"Shane?" I hear a voice.

It's Kayla. I open my eyes and go over to her. She turns on the overhead light and I shield my eyes.

"Ah! Bright!" I screech.

"Are you going to take me to school?" she asks.

I rub the sleep away from my eyes. "Yeah, sure." I sleepily get out of bed and put on some slippers. I'm wearing some pajama pants and a t-shirt. Kayla, on the other hand, is wearing the new sparkly clothes I bought her and her diamonds. She has the tiara, the 'K' necklace, and the bracelets on.

I pull on my winter coat before heading outside. Right as I step out, I go straight back in. Cold, cold, cold! I pull on Jason's UGGs – please do not ask why he has UGGs – and then zip up the jacket before going back out.

I hold Kayla's hand as we walk down the street to her school.

One day I'm just gonna get a limo to take her everyday.

When we get to the school, I walk her into her classroom. I can see her teacher eyeing the diamonds. She looks at me.

I nod. "They're real."

"And you let her wear them to school?" she asks.

"Yeah."

"What if she looses them?"

"Then I'll buy her new ones."

The teacher stares me down a bit and then mutters, "Damn, spoiled, rich kids."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I ask.

"Nothing," she says and pretends like nothing happens.

I raise my eyebrows at her and then turn around, walking out of the school.

When I get back home, I hear a very strange noise coming from upstairs. I head up there. "Jason? Jason, are you up there?"

"Shane! Come here!" Jason calls, sounding very excited.

I rush up the stairs and go into Jason's room. Sitting there in Jason's lap is a ginger chicken.

"What the hell is that?" I ask, pointing to his new feathered friend.

"C'est Rémi!" he exclaims.

"Why the hell do you have a chicken named Rémi?"

"He's from Quebec, so I gave him a French name," Jason explains.

"Why do you have Rémi?" I ask, going over to it.

"Well remember when you said I won a chicken yesterday?"

I gasp. "You didn't! You didn't actually go out and buy a chicken, did you?"

He shakes his head. "I didn't. I went into Quebec City and asked for a chicken. Some nice man on the street gave me him for free!"

"Oh my god, Jason! You can't just take hobo chickens! It could have diseases!" I begin to panic because I bet that little Rémi here has rabies.

Jason nods. "I know. That's why I'm giving him a bath." He points to the bathtub with water and bubbles in it. "Can you help me get him in there?"

I shake my head. "No, no, no. Jason. You cannot have a chicken as a pet. You need to give him back to his owner."

Jason looks upset. "But I already adopted him. Gave him a name. Loved him. Rémi's part of our family weather you like it or not!" He grabs Rémi and holds him tightly.

Oddly enough, that chicken actually seems to like Jason. It's not like it's trying to escape or anything.

"I'm sorry Jason, but you have to give the chicken to a farm or something. Westwood is just not the place for a chicken! And what about the dog? What if Elvis tries to eat Rémi?" I argue.

Jason shakes his head. "I'm not listening to you. You can't tell me what to do! I'm an adult dammit, and not only that, but this is my house! So you can either accept Rémi for who he is, or get the hell out of my house."

I hold up my hands defensively. "Fine. But don't come crying to me when you get some crazy, incurable mad chicken disease."

He nods once. "Now that we're on the right page, do you want to come to Petsmart with me and pick out a collar?"

I raise my eyebrows. "They don't have chicken collars."

Jason rolls his eyes. "Silly boy, of course they do!"

So at eleven we went to Petsmart. Turns out they don't have chicken collars. Surprise, surprise, eh?

But Jason buys a – get this – rabbit harness (who the hell takes their rabbits for walks?) and puts a dog tag on it that says, "Rémi."

While we're here, I buy some dog treats and more food for Elvis, and I also get him a new leash and tag for his collar.

Jason hooks up the whole harness thing and attaches a leash he got to it. Then he puts it on the chicken and starts walking him. The chicken follows along. I stand there, stunned. This needs to be on the news or something because this is just weird.

By the time we get home, it's almost time to go pick up Kayla, so I walk to her school. When I get there, the bell rings and all the kids come running out. Kayla spots me and comes over to me, grabbing my hand.

"Can we go to the library?" she asks. "I need to get a book."

"Sure," I say and head over to the library.

Right as I step inside the warm building, I have a sudden urge to go over to the non-fiction section and check out a book entitled "The History Of Modern Whaling." So I do. Kayla goes off to her little kid section and some magical force makes me open up the book to page thirty-two.

I open it up and a folded paper falls out.

I grab the blue piece of paper and read it.

"Shane –

_Did you like disappear of the face of the earth or something? Because it's been more than two months and no more notes from you. I just keep worrying that your dad or Greg Meanie Pants killed you or something. Did you move? Run away? If you're not still alive, I feel pretty stupid leaving these notes in this book. Who knows who will find this?_

_- M.D.T."_

Ah, yes. My library pen pal. Almost forgot about her.

Actually, no, I didn't, but that's what sarcasm is, children.

I find a pencil on the floor and write on the back of the paper.

_"Dearest Mitchie Demetria Torres,_

_I didn't die. Almost did. But didn't. Actually, I almost died twice. One was from my father, but the other one was because of this girl who raped me… I think her middle name was Demetria._

_-Shane Gray."_


	29. That Fucking Chicken!

Chapter 29 - A short little comic releif chapter

**Chapter 29**

"Jason, your fucking chicken broke my computer!" Nate yells from down in the bat cave. I can hear him stomping up the stairs from my post in the kitchen at the table. Nate opens the door and comes out into the real world. He has his MacBook in one hand, Rémi in the other. "You think this is funny?"

Nate throws Rémi down on the couch and it makes a funny chicken noise and flaps its wings. He holds out his MacBook which now sports a couple of missing keys, a pecked at screen, and some chicken shit smeared on it.

I burst out laughing.

"This is not funny!" Nate scolds me. He turns to Jason. "Damn it, Jason, why can't you keep the fucking thing under control? And why the hell haven't we sold it to Chick-Fil-A by now?"

Jason gasps. "You did _not_ just say what I think you said!"

"Chick-Fil-A?" Nate asks.

Jason jumps up from the couch and covers Nate's mouth with his hands. "Do not say that around Rémi!"

Nate pushes Jason away. "Why? Because he's a _chicken?_ And Chick-Fil-A _kills chickens similar to Rémi_?"

Jason can't control himself anymore. "Nate! That wasn't nice! Say you're sorry to Rémi Coyottito Addison!"

"Rémi _Coyottito_?" Nate asks. "That's what its middle name is? What the hell kind of a name is Coyottito?"

I can tell that this isn't going to end well. "Alright, children, settle down. We need not to fight over poultry."

Jason points an accusing finger at me. "And he makes fun of Rémi Coyottito, too!"

"Do not!" I defend.

"Do too!" he shoots back.

"I do not!"

"Yeah, well yesterday I saw you eating grilled chicken at the Westwood Tavern! You, sir, are a chicken murderer! I didn't say anything because I thought you would soon learn the error of your ways!"

Nate butts in. "I don't know about you, but I really want to go to the Westwood Tavern right now… and eat some _grilled chicken!_"

Jason gasps and grabs Rémi from the couch, holding him close. "I cannot believe you just said that. Rémi is my baby and I will do whatever it takes to protect my baby."

"Baby?" I ask. "Why don't you get a real baby? One that can actually talk and grow up! Rémi is a fucking chicken and will never actually love you!"

Jason looks like he's about to cry. He sniffs a bit and then runs upstairs, slamming the door to his room.

Nate and I both look at each other.

"I never knew Jason was so sensitive," Nate says.

"Well I knew," I tell him. "I just wanted to see how far we could push it."

Nate kinda stares at me for a bit. "So, you wanna go to the Westwood tavern?"

I shrug. "Sure."

Before we leave, Nate yells upstairs, "Jason, you're buying me a new computer tomorrow!"

X X X

The next day, we head off to the electronics store while Kayla is at school to get a new laptop for Nate. We get to Fry's electronics and go to the computer section.

This place is so big; it even has a restaurant in it. Not even kidding.

There is a sign that says, "Mother Boards."

Jason, Nate, and I study this for a second.

Jason sighs. "We're gonna need some father boards for these mother boards so that they can have baby boards."

Nate and I both look at Jason and he shrugs. "What? How are there gonna be more of these things if there are no babies?"

Jason goes up to one of the store people. "Excuse me, sir, where are the father boards?"

The guy stops walking and blankly stares at him.

"The father boards," Jason continues, "for the mother boards."

The dude obviously doesn't know what to do.

I randomly grab one of the motherboards. "Here they are, Jason!"

Jason comes over. "Oh, good, now we can have some baby boards." He puts the motherboard next to another one and then turns around. He whips back and looks at us. "Guys, please, give them their privacy."

Nate and I exchange glances but turn around anyway. I put my hands in my pocket and Nate folds his arms around his chest.

After about five minutes, Nate gets fed up. "How long are they gonna be?"

Jason looks at his watch. "Nate, give them time."

Nate sighs and leans up against the wall.

"Okay, it's been at least ten minutes," Nate says.

Jason peeks back. "They're not done yet," he tells us.

"Okay, seriously?" Nate asks. "Computer sex? This is fucking stupid." He turns around and gasps. "Well would you look at that? There's a baby board!"

I whip around.

Yeah, there was no baby board there.

Nate pulls me over to the laptops. "Come on, this is a complete waste of time."


	30. Meetings and Dates

Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Nate got his new laptop and we went back home to eat lunch.

After lunch, I went to go pick up Kayla from school. I left a couple minutes early so that I could go to the library.

As I walked down the road, I passed by my house. I slow down my pace to look in the windows. Gina is setting up the Christmas tree in the formal room. She's putting on the lights. I stop and watch her as she puts the ornaments on. I feel like a pervert peeking from the shadows.

Then, I hear the door open and I see DA coming out of the house. I quickly pull my scarf up, and hide behind my hood, rushing away.

"Shane?" DA asks.

I keep on walking like I didn't hear him.

Once I turn the corner, I catch my breath. Power walking that fast made me all winded. I cross the street over to the library and head inside. That familiar booky smell is present and I quickly stalk over to the non-fiction section.

Oh. My. God.

I stop in mid tracks when I see none other than that girl. Mitchie.

Now's my chance. Do I run and hide? Go up and talk to her?

She opens up the whaling book and grabs the note I put in there the other day. Mitchie smiles a bit as she's opening it, but when she reads it, she frowns. And then looks around.

"You!" I screech and fast-walk over to her.

Mitchie's jaw drops. "Shane Gray?"

I slap her. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Don't you slap me, boy!" she yells and slaps me back.

"Bitch!" I exclaim.

"Me? Why are you calling me a bitch?"

"Because you raped me! That's why!"

She's speechless. "You think I raped you?"

I nod. "Cause you did! You even wrote your number on my arm afterwards and I called it!"

Mitchie pauses for a second. "Wait, where did you get raped?"

"At some party," I say. "The point is-"

She cuts me off before I could finish. "That wasn't me."

I scoff. "What do you mean it wasn't you."

"I mean, it wasn't me!"

"I specifically remember that her middle name was Demetria and she gave me this phone number! So fuck you! What the hell's wrong with you!"

Some lady comes up to us. "I don't know what's going on here, but I suggest you not take it out in my library."

I grab Mitchie's arm and pull her outside.

"So what made you do it? What made you decide to rape a poor, innocent, drunk, rock star?" I ask as soon as my boots hit the snow.

"I'll say it once, and I'll say it again," Mitchie starts, "it wasn't me."

I nod. "Uh huh," I say sarcastically, "because there is another person on this world who just so happens to look the same as you and have the same name."

"But there is," she says.

I raise my eyebrows.

She continues, "My evil twin sister."

I stare blankly at her and then burst out laughing. She's not laughing. "Wait, you were serious?"

Mitchie nods. "I really do have an evil twin sister. Her middle name is Demetria, too."

"I'm finding this hard to believe," I say.

She shrugs. "Tons of people don't believe us. But, really, Shane, it wasn't me. It was Madeline. She came home one day and told me all about what happened at that party. I know everything."

"Then why did when I called the number she gave me, it was your answering machine?" I ask.

"Simple evil people logic – You do something bad and blame it on someone else," Mitchie says like it's nothing.

Oh wow, that actually does make sense. "I see where you're going."

We stand there in an awkward silence for a bit.

"Well, I better let you get back to your life now," Mitchie says and points to the elementary school. "You have to pick up Kayla at school, don't you?"

I turn around to look at the school. "Yeah."

Mitchie smiles. "Well it was really fun being your pen pal, no matter how intense the situations were. I hope everything's all right now."

I nod. "I moved in with Jason and Nate."

"Well that's good. I love stories with a happy ending," She smiles before heading off.

Right before she's too far away, I call out after her.

"But wait!" I cry. "I don't want the story to be over yet!"

Mitchie pauses for a moment and then turns around. She looks confused.

I pace over to her. "Don't leave." When I say this, I sound like Little Foot in that one scene in Land Before Time where his mum is dying. That scene always brings tears to my eyes.

"What do you mean, don't leave? I have to get back to my life," she says.

I shrug. "It was… nice being your pen pal. I just… don't leave."

She hesitates for a moment. "You don't want me to leave…?"

"Do you know where the Westwood Tavern is?" I ask.

Mitchie nods. "I've passed by it before. Why?"

"Meet me there tonight at seven, okay?" I ask. "I want you to meet Jason and Nate."

"Okay," she smiles. "I'll see you there, Shane." She walks away.

I stand there for a second. Did I really just ask the sister of the person who raped me out on a date? I guess I did. Wow. I hesitate before heading over to the school. Right as I get there, the bell rings and all the little kiddies come out.

Kayla walks up to me. "Shane, the most hilarious thing happened at school!" She grabs my hand and we begin going home.

"And what would that be?" I ask.

"Some girl, her name is Lucy, she fell out of her chair and broke her butt!" Kayla laughs.

I can't help but to laugh a bit. That was actually kind of funny. "That's pretty crazy, Kayles," I say.

"Yeah, some kid pushed her. His name is Andrew and he's the class bully," Kayla continues. "He got time out."

"Oh wow. This Andrew guy sounds like a real asshole," I say.

Kayla nods. "He is. I don't like him. Nobody does."

"Well if he's ever picking on you, you come to me and I'll handle it," I tell her.

"Okay, I will."

We go past out house and I look in the window. Gina and DA and laughing and drinking what seems to be eggnog. Kayla looks as well and we quicken our pace. When we reach out house, we both hang up our hats and coats.

"Who's hungry for linner?" Jason calls out from the kitchen.

I walk into the kitchen. "We just ate lunch. And, I'm going out to dinner."

Jason coos. "Ooh, got a hot date?"

I nod. "Totally."


	31. Dead Chickens

Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

I was already talking with Mitchie at the restaurant when Nate comes over to us.

"Jason's chicken shit all over my bed!" Nate exclaims, as he sits down. My waiters quickly set a Sprite down next to him. "I'm serious Shane, that thing needs to be toilet trained or something!"

Mitchie smiles awkwardly. "Hi, I'm Mitchie."

"Shane, will you please do something about this? Rémi thinks that my bed is his litter box and it pisses on my sheets. There is chicken shit _everywhere_," Nate continues, totally ignoring Mitchie. "There are little poop pellets-"

Mitchie coughs and Nate looks over at her. "Hi," he says and turns back to me. "Seriously, Shane, there are little poop pellets ground into my carpet…" He pauses and points to Mitchie. "Who's the chick?"

"This," I say, facing Mitchie, "is Mitchie."

Nate looks at her for a second. "Mitchie… Mitchie… Where have I heard that name before? Wait, didn't she rape you?"

I shake my head. "That was her sister."

Nate's jaw drops. "Then why are you going out with her sister!?"

"Long story," I say.

"I have time," Nate says, relining in his chair.

I turn to him. "I don't."  
He sits back up. "Fine then."

Our food comes – my waiters know what I want right as I walk in the door – and we all dig in.

Mitchie stares at the food in surprise. "You guys get some great service here!"

I nod. "I do own it."

"You do?" she asks.

"Yeah. Why do you think Nate got a Sprite right as he walked in?"

She shrugs.

Right as we're eating, Jason walks in with Rémi on his crazy-ass chicken leash and sits down at the table. "Hey," he says and puts Rémi in the seat next to him.

I almost choke on my food when I see Rémi. "Jason!" I scold. "You can not have a chicken in here! This is a restaurant!"

Nate looks over and gasps. "It's that _thing_!"

Jason frowns. "No. It's my pet."

I stand up and grab the chicken. "You can not have that pooping chicken in my restaurant. All of my customers will get freaked out. I'll go tie it up outside," I say and head off.

"Noo!" Jason exclaims and chases after me. He grabs the chicken. "He'll get chickennapped!"

I raise my eyebrows. "Jason, no one wants your stupid chicken."

Jason gasps. "Rémi is the most famous chicken in the world!"

"Uh…"

"He has his own Myspace," Jason says and pulls out his iPhone. He goes to Myspace, and sure enough, Rémi does have his own Myspace. And like a thousand friends.

"Oh," I say. "So maybe he is famous, but that doesn't mean that he can be in my restaurant, okay?"

Jason sighs. "Fine. I'll go take him home."

"Thank you," I say and head back to the table. "Sorry about that," I tell Mitchie.

"It's okay," she says, smiling.

I stab my salad with my fork. "I'm sorry, Jason is just so irrational." I begin to really pound my salad. "I just don't understand why he can't-"

"Whoa, whoa!" Mitchie grabs my hand, causing me to stop stabbing my salad. "You don't have to take it out on the salad," she says with a hint of amusement in her voice.

I sigh. "I'm sorry, he's just so frustrating."

She pats me on the back. "It's okay, Shane."

Nate looks up from eating his spaghetti, and he slurps up a noodle. "What are we talking about?" he asks, wiping his mouth free of sauce.

"Rémi," I explain. "And Jason."

Nate nods. "You know, Rémi has his own Myspace and has like ten thousand friends. He's actually really popular."

I look at him like he's crazy. "Whose side are you on?"

He shrugs. "I guess the anti-Rémi side. We should start a club: 'The Anti-Rémi Club.' There, that works."

I just look at him for a bit.

Then I eat my salad again.

X X X

After we all finish dinner, Mitchie and I say our good-byes, exchange numbers, and then Jason, Nate, and I head off to our house.

Nate goes down into his section of the house. Kayla is upstairs in her room, asleep, and Elvis comes running up to me.

That's odd; usually, Elvis has to stay in his cage. After that last Rémi-Elvis fight that almost ended in the death of the chicken, we had to lock Elvis up in the bottom floor.

Shit.

My stomach does a flip-flop and I walk over to the stairs.

There was blood on the floor.

Chicken blood.

Rémi's blood.

"Hey, Shane, have you seen Rémi?" Jason calls out from the kitchen. He walks over to me. "Where could he be?"

Probably downstairs in my dog's food bowl.

I shrug and lick my dry lips. My palms sweat. "I-I-I don't know."

Jason frowns. "Well I need to find him and take him on his nightly walk." He heads off upstairs. "Rémi! Rémi! Where are you, you silly chicken?"

Right as I'm sure he's upstairs, I go downstairs. I follow the little blood drops down to the basement.

Elvis races down with me. He trots over to some figure on the ground and brings it over to me, dropping it down by my feet.

It's Rémi.

I turn around when I hear someone coming down the stairs.

Jason.

"Hey, Shane!" he greets.

I don't move. I don't breathe. I don't speak.

Jason stops walking and then his attention draws to Elvis, who is wagging his tail by the limp lump of Rémi. He freezes up.

"Please don't tell me that's Rémi," he whispers so quiet that I can barely hear him.

When I don't say anything, Jason falls to the ground in sobs.


	32. Zoos

Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

I go over to Jason and hug him. "It's gonna be okay, Jason."

He holds me tightly and sobs into my shoulder.

I pat him on the back. "You can always get another pet. Just don't get a chicken."

Jason pulls away and wipes away some tears. "Who killed Rémi?"

"That's not the point," I say.

He shakes his head. "Yes it is. Someone needs to be held responsible for this."

I point to Elvis. "The dog," I tell him.

Jason glares at Elvis. "Murderer," he growls.

Elvis looks so innocent with his big puppy dog eyes and his moist nose.

"Don't blame Elvis; it was his instinct to kill stupid little birds," I say, defending the poor little puppy.

Jason stands up. "I don't ever want to look at Elvis ever again," he says stubbornly and goes down to pick up Rémi. "I'm off to go bury my little chicken." He heads upstairs.

I sigh and look at Elvis. "You just had to kill the damn thing, didn't you?"

Elvis barks and goes over to his bed.

I stand up and walk up the stairs, closing the door to the basement.

X X X

The next morning, Jason is sitting at the kitchen table eating pancakes with me. Kayla is down here too, but we haven't heard of Nate.

I start on my third pancake when Nate stumbles into the kitchen with pajamas on. He looks extremely tired. He coughs and sits down at the table. He moans and slams his head down on the table. "Ow," he complains weakly.

I poke his shoulder. "Are you dead?"

"Ughh."

"Are you having a seizer?"

Nate nods slowly. "Yes."

I pat him on the back. "Mmmkay." I pour some more syrup on my pancake. "Want some pancakes?" I ask Nate.

He shakes his head. "No."

"Orange juice?"

"Yes."

I get up from the table and pour a glass of orange juice. I set it down by Nate. Nate lifts his head and then puts it back down. "Too tired," he says.

"You can always go back to bed," I point out.

"Too tired."

"You're too tired to go back to bed? Alright then."

"No, I'm too tired to go back downstairs."

I shrug. "Fine. Sleep on the table."

Nate lifts his head. "Couch," he says and pushes his chair out. He stumbles over to the couch and lays down awkwardly, half way on it, half off.

I stand up and go over to him.

"Are you sick or something?" I ask.

"Meh."

I put the back of my hand on his forehead. "You have a fever," I tell him.

"Lower your voice!" he hisses. "My head hurts like a bitch!"

I go down to a whisper. "You have a fever," I tell him.

He just moans.

"Get better," I demand. "Cause we have our tour coming up, remember?"

He moans again.

I grab a fleece blanket and throw it over him. He curls up into a ball and uses one of the fancy couch pillows.

Kayla frowns. "What about the zoo?" she asks. "It won't be any fun without Nate!"

I sigh. "We'll have to go without him."

"No!" she complains. "Nate promised me that he'd so something crazy, though!" She runs over to Nate. "Nate, please go to the zoo with us!"

Nate makes an incoherent noise.

"Kayla, he needs to rest, okay? We can still have fun and make Jason do something stupid."

Jason shakes his head. "I can't go."

"Why?" I ask.

He stands up and brings his plate over to the sink. "I'm picking out a cemetery for Rémi. I want to make sure he has the nicest final resting place there is."

Kayla groans.

"It's okay, Kayla. We can have fun – just the two of us."

She groans again. "No!"

"What about if I invite Mitchie?"

"Who?"

"This girl. You'll like her."

She shrugs. "She better be fun and crazy."

"She is," I laugh.

Kayla rolls her eyes. "Fine."

I whip out my phone and dial Mitchie's number.

We begin talking.

And she's coming to the zoo with us in an hour.

Shit, I have to get ready.

X X X

When the doorbell rings, I quickly run downstairs to open it. Mitchie, of course, is standing there. She's wearing a giraffe t-shirt and a giraffe baseball cap. "Hey," I greet. "Nice giraffe-ness."

Mitchie laughs. "Thanks. And there's more, too," she says and pulls out some giraffe print sunglasses. "Now we're ready to roll."

"Come in," I say and she walks in. I close the door after her.

She looks around. "Fancy house."

"Yeah," I nod.

"I guess that's what you get when you are famous, right?"

"Mmhmm. This house is worth fifteen million."

"Holy shit!" Mitchie exclaims, her eyes wide. "Now I don't want to walk in here!" She backs up a bit to the doormat.

I shrug. "It's whatever. Like we ride bikes in here."

"Oh," she says and walks forwards, towards me.

I smile. "Let me give you the grand tour." I point to the formal room. "This is the room no one ever goes in." Mitchie laughs. "Yeah, well that's why it looks so good." I point to the room right across from it. "We never go in there, either." I point to the stairs. "Those are the stairs that go up, and then the ones that go down to the first floor."

Mitchie raises her eyebrows. "This thing is three stories?"

I shake my head. "Four."

"Damn, I wish I were rich!"

"The dog lives in the basement, Nate lives on the second floor, no one lives on the third, and Kayla, Jason, and I live on the fourth."

"That's crazy."

I laugh. "It's just your average multi-million dollar house." We walk into the kitchen. "This is our kitchen," and I point to the left, "and there's the living room."

Mitchie walks into the living room. "Oh, wow, this is so nice!" She walks over to the TV. "What a huge-ass mother fucker!" She turns around and gasps. "Shane, there's a dead person on your couch!"

I walk into the living room. "Oh, that's just Nate. Say hi, Nate."

Nate doesn't even stir.

I kick him a bit. He doesn't move. "Huh, guess he is dead."

Mitchie turns to me. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm sick. I blame it on the chicken," Nate mutters underneath plenty of blankets.

"Oh," Mitchie says, "okay. Speaking of chickens, where's Rémi?"

I shrug. "Hell."

"Elvis killed him," Nate says.

"Wait, are you being serious?" Mitchie asks.

I nod. "Yeah. Jason's out looking for a cemetery right now."

"Poor Rémi," Mitchie says.

I shrug. "Meh. He deserved it. He destroyed Nate's laptop and shat all over Nate's room."

"Shane are we ever gonna go?" Kayla asks as she comes downstairs.

Mitchie turns around and smiles. "Hi Kayla."

Kayla looks confused. "Who is this person and why does she know my name?"

"This is Mitchie," I say.

"Hi!" Mitchie says with a big smile and a wave.

Kayla points to her sunglasses. "Cool giraffe sunglasses."

"Thanks," Mitchie says, walking over to Kayla. She puts the sunglasses on Kayla. "There. Now you're a giraffe princess."

Kayla giggles. "Yay!"

"Okay, let's go," Mitchie says and grabs Kayla's hand.

We all walk out the door, and I lock it as we leave. We all walk down into the town and get on the subway. Yes, I know we're taking the subway and I do realize that. It was too short of notice to get a limo with Jason flaking out and all.

Once we get to the zoo, I pay for all of our tickets and we walk inside. The first things we see are the monkeys.

Kayla screeches and lets go of Mitchie's hand, running over to them. Mitchie and I laugh and head over to the monkeys. Kayla points to a brown one. "That one is Jason," she points to a black and white one, "there's Nate," she points to a darker brown one, "and that's you."

Mitchie frowns. "I'm not a monkey?"

She shakes her head. "You and I are giraffes."

"Great, so I'm a monkey," I say with a hint of amusement in my voice.

"I've always wanted to be a giraffe," Mitchie says.

Kayla starts jumping up and down. "Where are the giraffes?"

I take out my park map and study it. "They should be right around here somewhere."

Kayla takes off and Mitchie and I jog after her.

We end up by the giraffes someway, somehow.

Mitchie smiles. "I love giraffes."

I let out a huff of laughter. "Like we already couldn't tell by your crazy-ass hat and purse."

"I'm a giraffe enthusiast," she explains walking over to a booth.

It's some sort of crazy "save the giraffes" booth. I go over to it with her.

Some dude starts talking about rescuing giraffes or some shit like that. Mitchie pulls out her wallet and drops a five in the donation box. I take out my wallet and drop in a hundred dollar bill.

Mitchie looks over at me. "Show off."

We both burst out laughing.

The dude gives us both giraffe stamps. Kayla sees our giraffe stamps and gasps. "I want a giraffe stamp!" she exclaims.

The dude laughs. "You can have one too, sweetie," he says and stamps her hand.

We continue looking through the park and then wind up at some little kid playground. Kayla immediately goes over to the tunnels and Mitchie and I walk over to some boat type thing. It wasn't on water or anything; it was just a playground.

Mitchie and I both go on the ship and sit on the little fake pier. We sit there for a moment and then a fountain comes on, and we get wet a bit. Mitchie laughs.

Kayla comes up to us and sits on the pier.

"I wish we had a camera," I say. "This is so cool."

Mitchie pulls out a camera from her purse. "I have a camera." She hops off of the pier and goes over a bit. "Smile!" she says.

Kayla poses like Hannah Montana, so I do the same. After Mitchie takes the picture we both burst out laughing.

After walking around for what seemed like eternity, we stop for lunch. We all order these kiddy meals and they come in a tiger lunchbox.

Mitchie, Kayla, and I sit down at a table and eat our hotdogs and fries.

I get up after a bit and get some cotton candy.

"What the hell is that?" Mitchie asks as I sit down.

"Cotton candy," I say and rip off a piece for her. "Want some?"

She shrugs. "Is it good?"

"Wait, have you ever had some before?" I ask.

She shakes her head.

"You're so weird!" I exclaim and hand her a piece.

Mitchie takes it and puts it in her mouth. Her eyes widen. "It disappeared!" I give her some more. "Oh my god, this is so crazy!"

I laugh. "You're a hoot."

She smiles. "Thank you!"

I dip a fry in some ketchup. "So we're doing a concert here in about like… four days. Want to go?"

"Shane Gray, are you asking me to go to your concert for free?" she asks.

I nod.

She pulls out her wallet and flashes a ticket. "Already got my ticket."

I snatch it away from her. "These are lawn seats!" I exclaim and throw it on the table.

Mitchie takes the ticket back. "Well that's what we poor people do."

"I'll get you better seats," I say. "Er… seat."

"Well fine then," she says and rips it in half, "I guess I'm gonna get rich people tickets."


	33. All Dogs Go To Heaven

**Chapter 33**

When we get back home, we head into the living room. I look over at the couch and Nate is lying on the floor, looking very dead. I stare at him for a second. His mouth is wide open and there's no blankets or pillows.

"Nate? Nate, are you dead?" I ask, kicking him.

He moans. "So tired."

"Well get on the couch or something," I say.

"I'm too exhausted to get back up there."

"God damn, were you up all night partying or something?"

"No," He pauses here to cough. "I'm just uber sick."

"Do you want me to get a doctor or something? You look like death," I say.

Nate shakes his head. "I'll be fine by tomorrow."

"Okay, well do you want me to put you back on the couch, or are you fine on the floor?"

"I'll just stay on the floor."

I grab a blanket and put it on him. "Okay, well if you need anything, tell me."

"Meh."

Mitchie looks over and gives a sympathetic smile. I walk over to her. "You might want to call that doctor," she whispers.

I shrug. "Just give it a few days."

Jason opens the front door, and both of our attentions draw towards him. "Hey guys," he says. "You hungry for dinner?"

"Yeah," I say, "what are we having?"

He walks into the kitchen and puts some Target bags down on the counter, and starts putting things away. "I was thinking of grilling hotdogs or something."

"We just had hotdogs," I tell him.

"Well I could make spaghetti," he says, pulling out some marinara sauce.

Mitchie smiles. "Well I better get going now. Thanks for inviting me to the zoo."

I put my hand on her shoulder. "No. Stay for dinner." I take my hand off of her shoulder and rub the back of my neck. "I mean, if you want to."

"I guess I could," she says.

I Demi-smile internally. Eee!

We go down and sit at the table.

"Well dinner's not done yet!" Jason says, filling up a pot with water.

Mitchie turns to me. "Want to watch TV?"

I shrug and stand up. We walk into the living room and I turn on the TV. I have to climb over Nate to sit on the couch, and I turn on House.

Mitchie and I watch the newest episode of House.

But then Nate ruins it.

"Guys, I'm sleeping," he mutters.

I look down at him. "Forgot," I say and turn off the TV. "Are you sure you don't want me to put you on the couch?"

"Positive," he says, stubbornly.

"Really?" I ask.

"No," he says. "Help," he cries out pathetically.

I signal to Mitchie and she grabs his legs. We both hoist him up on the couch and he rolls over onto his side. I pick up the blanket and put it on him.

"I really do think you're dying," I tell him.

"No, I'm fine," he says.

I feel his forehead. "You're still really warm. Are you sure you don't want me to call a doctor."

"I'll be fine!" he barks. And then goes into a coughing fit.

That's Nate for you; stubborn.

"If you're not better by tomorrow I'm gonna call someone."

"Whatever."

"Fine, stay here in your misery."

"Go away."

"I'm only trying to help."

"I hope you die!"

"That's not very nice."

"You're not very nice – ow my stomach!"

I frown. "I'm gonna call someone."

"No! I already told you. I don't need anyone!"

"Fine," I say. "I'll leave you alone."

"Thank you," he says.

Mitchie and I exchange glances and then walk out of the living room. I lead her down to the second floor and we continue watching House on Nate's TV.

"Guys! Dinner!" Jason calls over the intercom.

We both go upstairs and sit down at the table with Kayla. Jason sets out the bowls with pasta and we all start to eat it.

As I'm eating, I remember that I have to go feed the dog. "Be right back," I say and scoot my chair out.

"Where?" Mitchie asks.

"I gotta feed the dog," I say and head downstairs.

I go down to the first floor. "Elvis! Dinner!" I call. I put some food in his food bowl and rattle it. "Dog! Food! Here!"

When Elvis doesn't come racing out of his hiding place, I look for him. I go into each room.

But he's nowhere to be found.

I head back upstairs. "Where the hell's the dog?" I ask.

Jason wipes his mouth free of sauce. "Oh yeah. He died."

"WHAT?!"

He nods. "Yeah. I went down there and he was dead. Forgot to tell you."

"Jason!" I exclaim in disbelief.

"I didn't kill him if that's what you think!" Jason defends. "I went down there and he was dead!"

"Somehow, I don't believe you. Is this revenge for him killing Rémi?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Really, Shane, I went down there and he was dead."

"I don't believe you," I say, rage building up inside.

Mitchie stands up. "Well this is awkward. I think I'm going to leave for an extended period of time now," she says and walks out the door.

I stand up. "Jason I cannot believe you killed our dog over a stupid chicken!"

Jason stands. "But I didn't kill Elvis! I'm telling you the truth!"

I close my eyes and try to calm myself, but instead I blow up. "Jason! Just go! Leave!"

Jason frowns. "I didn't kill the dog," he says.

"Get the hell out of this house!" I yell.

Jason huffs. "Fine." He walks over to the front door and slams it as he leaves.

I let out a shaky breath and clench my fists.

Kayla is just staring, wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry, Kayla," I say.

She starts tearing up. "He killed Elvis."

"I know. I'm so sorry."

Kayla starts crying and she runs upstairs.

"What just happened?" I hear a soft voice.

I look over and see Nate attempting to sit up.

I walk over to him. "Jason killed Elvis. And I just kicked him out of the house."

"You're gonna let him back home after a while, right? And what about the tour?" He asks.

"Well, I mean killing Elvis was awful and all, but I don't want to cancel the tour because of it. Just think of this as a time-out."

"Whatever," Nate says and lies back down. "I'm sure it will blow over in two days tops."


	34. Don't Tell Anyone

**Chapter 34**

It's been two days.

It hasn't blow over.

Kayla is still upset about the dog.

Mitchie hasn't returned.

Nate is still in agony on the couch – if you ask me, he's getting worse.

Elvis is still dead.

And Jason – Jason won't answer his phone.

So here I am, sitting next to Nate as he pukes his guts out into a trashcan.

"Fuck…" Nate mutters.

"Yeah. Gross," I whisper.

Nate pukes again.

I wrinkle my nose in disgust. "The smell of vomit is getting to me."

"Me too," Nate says, wiping his mouth with a paper towel. He gets into another coughing fit.

"Here," I say handing him a thermometer. "Temperature."

He shakes his head. "I don't wanna."

"Do it," I say.

"No."

"I'll shove it up your ass. You know I will."

Nate sighs and takes it from me. He knows I'm right. He puts it in his mouth and I take it out when it beeps.

"One o' four," I say. "That's bad."

He groans. "Shane, how many time do I have to tell you? I'll be fine."

I stand up. "It's been this high for three days now. You need to see a doctor."

Nate shakes his head and grabs a blue blanket. He wraps it around him and shivers.

I hear the doorbell ring.

"Be right back," I say.

I stand up and answer the door. It's Mitchie. "Hi. Thanks for returning my calls," I say sarcastically.

She frowns. "I couldn't find my phone until an hour ago. I got your voicemails. How is he?"

"Still puking his guts out," I say.

Mitchie invites herself in and walks into the living room. Nate is laying on the couch with his eyes closed, shivering uncontrollably.

"God damn, Nate! You look horrible!" Mitchie exclaims.

Nate opens his eyes and looks at her. "Why thank you," he says.

"Here. Eat this," Mitchie says and reaches into her giant purse. She pulls out a plastic baggie with what looks like grass in it.

Nate looks at it. "What the hell is that?"

"Herbs," she says and opens it up.

"Looks more like weed if you ask me," Nate says. "But sure, I'll take your weed. Hey, free weed." He holds out his hand and Mitchie pours some into his hand. "Do I just eat it?" She nods so Nate licks the grass off of his hand. He gags in mid chew. "This tastes like cow shit!"

"Just eat it," Mitchie says.

Nate swallows it.

Mitchie and I stare at him.

He looks around from side to side. "What? I'm not gonna jump through a hoop, if that's what you're waiting for."

We keep on intensely staring at him.

I'm just waiting for him to puke again.

I think we all are.

Which sounds awful, but we just want to see if the grass, weed, herbs, or whatever the hell it was worked.

"I'm gonna get some water," Mitchie announces and grabs a water bottle from my fridge. She brings it back over here and we sit there, waiting for something to happen.

I hear the door open. "Shane, I didn't kill your dog!" Jason comes running into the living room. He trips over something and falls to the ground. "Ow!"

I go over to him. "We've already been over this, Jason."

He stands up and shakes his head. "Your dog had Leptospirosis and died of it."

"Jason, that was a big word. Where did you hear that from?"

"The vet," he says. "I brought Elvis to a vet to prove that I didn't murder your dog. And he had this weird disease that I already forgot the name of."

Oh my god. That actually sounds believable.

"Wait, seriously?" I ask.

Jason nods.

"So Jason isn't a puppy murderer," Nate says. He readjusts the blanket around him. "I always knew he would never kill a poor defenseless animal." He starts coughing again.

"I'm sorry I blamed you," I apologize. "And I'm sorry for kicking you out of the house."

He shrugs. "It's okay. I got a hot date while I was staying at the hotel."

"Who?" I ask.

"Her name's Madeline Torres." He points to Mitchie. "Hey! She looks just like Mitchie!"

Mitchie starts choking. She puts the water down on the table and coughs.

My jaw drops. "Jason!"

"What?" he asks.

"Madeline Torres raped me!" I exclaim, standing up.

Jason stares at me. "Since when?"

Yeah, I still haven't told him about it. "Long story," I say.

Jason frowns. "But I really like her."He sighs. "Well it is the golden rule not to date friends' ex-girlfriends."

"I'm sorry," I say.

He shrugs. "I guess it's okay." He pauses for a moment. "Well I better go get my stuff back from the hotel." Jason leaves.

Mitchie turns to me. "I have to head back home. It's late."

I nod. "Thanks for coming though. See you at the concert tomorrow night?"

"Of course." Mitchie turns to Nate. "Do you feel any better?"

Nate shrugs.

"I'm sure you'll be better by tomorrow," she says with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks Mitchie," he says and then lays down on the couch, yawning. Nate closes his eyes and adjusts the blanket.

Mitchie nods before heading out.

Mitchie's point of view

Right as I close their front door, I run as fast as I can down the street and catch up with Jason. He turns around. "Madeline!"

I shake my head. "No. Mitchie."

Jason looks confused.

I roll my eyes and scoff. "You idiot."

"I don't get it!" he cries.

I laugh a bit. "There is no one named Madeline," I say and pull him close to me, kissing him deeply.

"I love you, Madeline," he whispers.

"The name's Mitchie. Not Madeline," I say and kiss him again.

He pulls away. "I don't get it."

I groan in frustration. "There was never a Madeline!"

Jason looks confused. "But wait, if you're Mitchie and Madeline then… Are you Hannah Montana?" He gasps. "I get it! You raped Shane but then blamed it on a sister you never had and now you're dating me and him? Ooh, you bad girl!"

"Sssh!" I hiss. "Not so loud; he might hear you!"

Jason frowns. "But I thought what we had was special."

"It is," I say. "I love you so much, Jason."

"I love you too, Mitchie."

After we kiss again, I whisper, "Don't tell anyone."

**A\N: Hey everyone. I've kinda been dissapointed with the lack of reviews I've been getting latley for this story. So please just donate about two seconds of your time and write something so I don't have to lash out in anger and kill a litter of small kittens. So do it for the kittens. Review. **


	35. Nate

**Chapter 35**

"I'm gonna take a bath," Nate announces and stands up.

I stand up too. "I'll come with."

Nate gives me a weird look. "Pervert."

I roll my eyes. "Yesterday when you took a bath, you nearly drowned and I had to rescue you. You fell asleep in the bathtub."

He scoffs. "I wasn't sleeping; I was resting my eyes."

"And drowning?"

"And swimming underwater."

Nate takes his blanket and walks out of the living room. I follow right behind. He turns around. "Shane, I'm not gay."

"I know that. I'm just making sure you don't die."

He stares at me for a bit. "Well just don't you dare look at me when I'm in the nude."

"I'll try my best not to," I say with a hint of amusement in my voice. "You know how I get around other boys. Little boys in particular." I whisper, "Cause I'm Michael Jackson!"

"I'm being serious, Shane. It's gonna be real awkward sleeping in the same house after you've see my wee-wee."

I roll my eyes. "God, take a joke."

Nate hesitantly walks into the bathroom. Before I could go in there, he slams the door and locks it.

I roll my eyes.

He reopens the door about thirty seconds later, wearing a bathing suit. He lets me in so I sit down in a chair while he fills up the bathtub.

"I can't begin to tell you how awkward this is," Nate says, pouring some bubble bath in.

I nod and make a popping noise with my mouth.

When the tub is full, Nate gets in.

I stare at him. He makes a beard out of bubbles.

"Very juvenile," I say.

"Hey, I'm only thirteen," he defends. "I still have a little bit of little kid in me."

"Are you feeling better?" I ask.

He yawns. "I don't know… I feel a bit sleepy." Then he slips under the water. And doesn't come back up.

"Nate!" I stand up from my chair and pull him out of the water.

He's laughing.

I scoff and throw him back down in the water.

"God, take a joke," he mocks me.

"I'm sorry, but I thought you had actually died," I say.

He smirks. "That's what makes me such a good actor."

After about twenty minutes I begin to get really bored. I take in a deep breath and let it out.

Nate's still sitting there, swishing the water around.

"You ever gonna get out?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "Not right now. It's nice sitting in here."

I sigh and wait for another ten minutes. I look at my watch. "Okay, you've been in here for an hour. I'm sure you look like prune right now."

Nate shows me his hand. It's all wrinkly.

"Okay when you look like that, you know it's time to get out."

He turns on the jets. "I like sitting here. It makes my tummy not hurt."

"Fine."

Nate yawns.

"Okay, you're tired. Get out."

"I've been tired for the past three days."

After ten more minutes, I get fed up. "Can I go get my laptop or something?"

He nods. "I promise not to die while you're gone."

I stand up and head upstairs to my room. I grab my laptop and go back down. Right as I enter the bathroom, I don't see Nate in the bathtub.

I laugh a bit. "Very funny, Nate. I'm not falling for it again."

I sit down in the chair. I'm sure he'll come up for air in the next ten seconds. I turn on my laptop and then look over at the water. He's still not there.

Five seconds later and I start getting really worried.

Two more seconds and I get up from my chair. "Nate!" I reach into the tub and grab my friend out. He opens his eyes and coughs. "Nate!"

Nate continues coughing. He coughs up some water.

"Okay, you just drowned again. Get out."

Nate nods and I lift him out of the bathtub, handing him a fluffy green towel. He wraps it around him. "Brrgh, it's cold now."

I let the water out of the tub and lead Nate out of the bathroom. He goes into the living room and sits in a chair, putting his head down.

I go downstairs into his room and get some boxers and a t-shirt. I head back upstairs and hand them to him. I turn away while he dries off and changes. Once he finishes, I turn around and see him laying on the couch.

"You sure you'll be okay for the concert tomorrow?" I ask.

He nods. "I just need to sleep."

"I'm gonna take your temperature again," I say and look for the thermometer.

"No. I'm fine. Mitchie cured me."

I sigh. "Fine."

Nate grabs a blanket and wraps himself into it. He shivers.

I watch him and listen to his teeth chatter. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He nods. "Yeah. It's just really cold in here."

I go over to the thermostat and turn up the heat. I look over at the clock. It's past midnight. Where could Jason be? I guess he'll come back soon. I turn off the lights. "Good night my little princess."

Nate groans a bit in disgust.

"I love you, my angel."  
"Stop it."

"Goodnight sweetie pants."

"You can go away now."

I laugh and head upstairs. I look in Kayla's room and smile when I see her, fast asleep. I close her door and then head off into my own room, turning off the lights and hopping in bed.

Nate's point of view

I wake up when I smell those damn toaster waffles Jason always makes in the morning. That's like the only thing he can make. I attempt to sit up, but right as I do, I feel a throbbing pain pounding into my head and I lay back down.

Shane walks into the room. "Morning." He walks over to me. "You ready for the concert tonight?"

"Yeah," I say and sit up. Fuck, that hurt. I hide my pain with a fake smile.

"Coffee?" Shane asks.

I nod and he sets off.

I feel really dizzy and faint. Shane hands me a mug and I smile in thanks. I take a whiff of it and feel like puking. I put it down on the coffee table – hey, that's why it's called a coffee table!

Shane looks at me. "You're not gonna drink it?"

I shake my head. "Too early to drink coffee."

"Hmm…" he says and walks away with his mug.

I sit on the couch for a second and then stand up, trying not to fall over. I stumble over to the kitchen table and plop down.

Jason hands me a waffle covered with syrup.

I stare at it for a bit and feel nauseas. "Uhh, Jason? Can I just have water?"

"Sure," he says and tosses me a water bottle.

I miss it with epic fail and Shane raises his eyebrows. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asks.

I scoot my chair out and nod. "Yeah, I'm just not very coordinated in the morning. You know that." I get the water bottle and sip it slowly. My hand trembles a bit and I have to hold it with both hands to keep it still.

Shane watches me.

"What?" I ask, setting down the water.

He stands up. "I hope you do realize that we can reschedule the concert if you're sick."

I shake my head. "I'm fine."

That was a lie.

"Okay. I'll believe you. Just go get packed for tour and put your suitcases by the door. We have to leave in about an hour." Shane sets off upstairs.

I hesitate before going downstairs. I get my suitcase and start shoving random clothes in there. I don't even see what I pack, I just put some in there and then zip it closed.

I sigh and then head up the stairs, holding onto the railing so that I don't fall. I inch my way up the stairs. It takes about ten minutes, but I make it up and then roll the bag over by Shane and Jason's bags.

Shane comes downstairs with Kayla's suitcase. "Alright, the bus should be here soon." He smiles. "Aren't you just so excited to be back touring again?"

I nod. "Yeah. It's been a while."

I sit in the formal room I don't think I've ever been in before and close my eyes. My eyes shoot open when I hear Shane and Jason calling my name. I must have fallen asleep. I get up from the couch and walk over to the door. I grab my bag and take it down the stairs.

One of the workers – don't even know his name – takes my bag from me and puts it on our tour bus.

I go inside and head straight for my bunk, closing my curtain.

"Nate? Nate, where are you?" Shane asks. "Is he even here?"

"I saw him get on the bus," I hear our body guard, Big Rob say.

"Nate!" Shane calls. He opens my curtain. "Here he is!"

"Close my curtain!" I hiss. "I was taking a nap!"

Shane frowns and closes the curtain.

I feel the bus start to move and I quickly fall asleep.

The next time I wake up, it's because Shane opens my curtain. "Hi," he says.

"Hi," I say and yawn.

"Come on, we're running late for sound check."

I hop out of my bunk and immediately regret my decision. I grab onto something to maintain balance. Jason rushes past me and almost knocks me over. I bend over a bit in pain – fucking stomach cramps (no, not period cramps) – and then head off the bus, crouched over a bit.

I head into the venue and on to the stage where Shane and Jason were already fumbling around with microphones and guitars.

Someone hands me my guitar and I stare at it a bit, almost forgetting what to do with it.

"Okay, let's start with Love Bug," Shane says and points to some backstage person I'm too lazy to identify. "Five, six," Shane says.

Jason starts playing the intro to our song "Love Bug." I go over to the microphone. "Called you for the first time, yesterday. Finally found the missing part of me."

I sing horribly and out of tune and Shane looks over at me. He comes in during his part. "Now I'm speechless, over the edge, I'm just breathless. I never though that I'd catch this love bug again."

After what felt like two hours of pure hell and torture, we had finally run through all of our show and people were already beginning to arrive.

I gave my guitar back to one of the stagehands and then I head off backstage so that our opening act, Aly and AJ, can perform.

While I'm backstage, I hear all the fans scream as Aly and AJ perform "Like Whoa."

I sit down on a couch with Shane and Jason.

Shane looks really worried. "Are you sure you want to do this, man?"

I nod. "I'll be fine."

"Cause you sounded awful. Are you still sick?" he asks and attempts to feel my forehead.

I swat his hand away. "I already told you. I'm fine. Leave me alone. I can do this."

Shane sighs. "Okay, but I just want to let you know we're here for you. And we can always stop the concert if you feel bad, okay?"

"Stop fussing!" I bark.

"Guys, time to go," our stage manager tells us.

We all stand up simultaneously and head to our positions. I hear the roar of screams from all the girls out there and my stomach does another flip-flop.

Nerves and an upset stomach don't mix very well.

Jason starts playing the intro to "That's Just The Way We Roll" and the platform we're standing on starts moving.

Don't barf, don't barf, don't barf.

I see the audience and all the flashes from their cameras and hold my breath.

"I woke up on my roof with my best friends," Shane sings.

We hop onto the stage and I start playing with Jason.

"There's a whale in the pool with Jason's mother. And Nate's dad paints his house different colours. Where would be if we couldn't dream?"

"And I know!" I sing the chorus with him. "We get a little crazy. And I know, we get a little loud!" I sway a bit, but catch myself.

"Cause that's just the way we roll!" I finish and Shane sings the next verse.

I walk down stage with Shane. Shane flashes me a look and telepathically communicates with me, telling me the same thing he told me backstage.

I ignore him and go to my own side of the stage, over to the left.

When we start singing "Start The Party" I begin to feel my heart race when my stomach churns.

"Start, start, start the party," I mutter weakly.

I look down at the audience and I guess they can tell something's wrong because the girls in the front row frown.

I hold my queasy stomach and turn around.

Shane is right behind me and he looks worried. "Don't barf," he mouths while Jason is playing his guitar solo.

"And you don't think I'm fucking trying not to?" I mouth back.

Shane signals for me to go backstage, but I shake my head, being stubborn as usual. Shane walks up next to me. "Start, start, start the party!"

"Come on, come on, everyone," I practically whisper.

He starts jumping, trying to get the energy back up in this so-called party.

I gasp and then push him aside, falling to my knees and puking.

The whole concert stops and everyone looks over at me. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. "Shit," I say and everyone hears it.

I barf again and moan, laying down on my back, closing my eyes.

Shane and Jason come over to me, blocking me from the audience's view. I cough and open my eyes.

"Dude!" Shane exclaims. "I thought you said you were okay!" He had turned off his headset, so no one heard that.

I mutter something and shake my head from side to side, semi-consciously.

Shane puts the back of his hand on my forehead. "Shit, Nate, you're burning up!"

"Burning up, burning up for you baby," I sing, thinking that we were performing that song. I'm so out of it right now. I hadn't turned off my headset, so that was echoed throughout the venue.

I can hear the gasps and murmurs from the audience.

I close my eyes and breathe heavily.

Shane turns around and turns his headset back on. "Uh, we need a doctor over here!"

I moan again and then pass out.

**A\N: Hooray for you guys saving poor innocent kittens one review at a time. I appreciate all the reviews I got - it was like every second I got a new one! The more you review, the faster I want to put up the next chapter! Keep that in mind when you're thinking of closing the window and not leaving me a little message. **

**Oh and if you didn'h hear, Obama's mummy died today. :( I feel really bad cause now she'll never know if he's president or not. **


	36. Nate part 2

**Chapter 36**

People are touching me and I don't like it. Who the hell is there? I move my head back and forth and then open my eyes. I see a flash of light and quickly close them again.

"Nate! Nate!"

It's Shane. And he's yelling my name.

I slowly open my eyes again. Standing above me is Jason, Shane, Big Rob, and some guy I don't recognize. They're all blurry.

"Nate, say something if you can hear me."

"Ouch…" I croak out.

Shane lets out a sigh of relief. "Oh my god, he's alive."

I look around. This place doesn't seem familiar. "Where am I?" I slur. There are ridiculously bright light and screaming people. Probably not the best place to be with my killer headache.

"We're still on stage," Shane informs me.

"Huh?" I ask.

Shane and some random dude exchange worried glances.

I close my eyes again and try to sleep but someone keeps waking me up.

"You gotta stay awake," the guy says. I don't recognize his voice.

Easy for you to say, asshole.

"Just hang in there," Shane says. "Just a little bit longer and you'll be fine."

"A little bit longer and I'll be dead," I whisper.

The weird guy presses down on my stomach and I gasp. "Bitch!" I exclaim. "That fucking hurt!" I close my eyes and turn away from him, curling into a ball. Who ever it is, they're causing pain so I don't want them near me.

"I'm sorry but I need you to lay on your back," the guy says and then moves me back.

"Who the hell are you?" I ask.

"I'm Doctor Hansen," he says.

I let out a huff of laughter. "Pop and lock, battle dance against Hanson." I giggle a bit. "That's an awesome last name." I close my eyes, but then Dr. Hansen wakes me up again. "Bleh, you," I say. "I'm fuckin' tired."

"I'm sorry but I need you to stay awake for a little bit. Then you can sleep, I promise."

"You're such a liar and you know it."

Shane hits me lightly. "Nate, now is not the time to be an asshole."

"Well what if I want to be an asshole? I mean it's-" I pause here to yelp out in pain. "Shit, Hansen, what the fuck!"

"I didn't do anything," he says.

I feel that same stomach pain again. "Ahh! Make it stop!"

"Where does it hurt?" Hansen asks.

I clutch my stomach and roll over on my side again. The pain goes away. But then Dr. Hansen rolls me back over and it hurts again. "Fucking bitch! It stopped hurting but now it hurts again!"

Hansen presses down on my stomach again.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! If it hurts what makes you think that it's gonna be better if you keep pressing down on it like that?" I ask.

"It's not pancreatitis," Hansen says.

"Hmm," I say. "Let's make a list of all the things it's not. I'll start. It's not a broken arm. If someone asks you what two plus two is, you don't come back ten minutes later and say 'not seven.'"

Hansen looks a bit fed up, but he knows I made a good point.

Shane nudges me again. "Stop."

Hansen suddenly opens up my mouth and I quickly slam it shut. He sighs and takes a flash light and shines it right in my eyes.

"Ah!" I complain and shield myself from the light with my hands.

I'm sure he's really pissed with me by now. "Can you hold him down so I can see something?" he asks Jason and Shane.

Shane grabs my left arm and pins it down to the ground, while Jason pins down my right. I growl a bit at them.

Dr. Evil takes his evil flashlight of death and shines it into my eyes again. He turns it off. "He's jaundiced."

"What does that mean?" Shane asks.

"His liver's failing," Dr. Hansen says.

"Shit," I say. "Sounds like it sucks." I close my eyes.

"I'm thinking it might be Leptospirosis but I won't know until we run more tests." Dr. Hansen tells us.

"Scary words!" I say, creating a dramatic effect.

"Hey, that's what our dog had!" Jason exclaims suddenly.

Dr. Hansen turns to Jason. "When did he get it?"

Jason shrugs. "Our dog died four days ago."

"When did Nate start showing symptoms?"

"I dunno, like a week ago?" Shane adds.

Dr. Hansen wakes me up again.

"What?!" I bark.

"When did you start feeling sick?" he asks.

"Too long ago," I say and close my eyes again.

"Nate," he says and starts shaking me. "I need an exact date."

I ignore him and keep my eyes closed.

"Oh my god, he died!" Jason exclaims.

"Nate, if you can hear me say something," Hansen says. I ignore him. Hell, I don't want to talk to this guy. "I don't know if he's actually unconscious or if he's faking it."

"I'll find out," Shane says and shakes me. "Nate… Nate… Seriously, this is serious." He sighs and then takes off my shoe and my sock. Then he tickles my feet.

"Stop!" I say and quickly sit up. Right as I do, I regret my decision and moan again. "Nut sack, that hurts!" I lay back down, holding my stomach.

"The more you cooperate, the quicker I can let you sleep," Hansen says.

I don't like this guy.

Dr. Hansen reaches into his bag of evil and pulls out some stuff. He puts a thermometer under my tongue. I reluctantly keep the thing in my mouth while he does something else – who knows that?

I feel a sudden wave up sleepiness crash into me and I close my eyes again. I hear a beep and Dr. Hansen takes the thermometer out. "You have a temperature of one hundred five. Nate, why didn't you tell anyone you were sick?"

What did he just say? I must have dozed off.

"We tried to make him see a doctor," Shane says.

"Let me guess – he's scared of hospitals."

"Yeah. Like uber afraid of doctors and everything."

I doze off again.

Shane's point of view

Dr. Hansen turns to me. "We need to get him to a hospital."

I nod and stand up. I go backstage. "Get an ambulance," I tell our stage manager, Carl. Carl sets off somewhere.

I head back onstage. I almost forgot about all the people out here. I grab a microphone. I turn it on. "Uh… hey guys."

I see everyone's camera flashes. You know this is going to be on YouTube tonight.

"So, uh…" How the hell do I start this? "I know you're all worried about Nate. But, uh, he's gonna be okay. We're gonna go to the hospital and … we'll keep you posted on what's goin' on and stuff… So uh… Yeah."

That couldn't have been more awkward.

I turn off the microphone and head over to Nate.

Dr. Hansen turns to me. "He's unconscious again."

"Faking it?"

He shakes his head. "No."

I sigh.

You know that saying, "There are no atheists in fox holes?"

I pray. Dear God, please let Nate be okay.

Did I really just pray?

Weird.

"The ambulance is here," Carl says from backstage.

Big Rob picks Nate up and carries him backstage. Nate lets out a soft moan.

I look over at him. "Nate?"

"Where am I?" he asks.

"Don't worry about that right now; just go back to sleep."

Nate closes his eyes again.

Nate's point of view

I open my eyes and feel dizzy. "Where am I?"

Shane looks over at me. "Don't worry about that right now; just go back to sleep."

I close my eyes and then wake up again when I'm lying down on some sort of hospital thing. A bunch of people are rushing around me.

I can't help but to wonder what's going on.

Shane is standing by me.

"Shane," I manage to croak out.

"Nate!" he exclaims like he's surprised that I was able to speak.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"We're at the hospital, but you're gonna be alright."

"Well I could've figured where I was."

"Just don't worry about it."

"Stop telling me to not worry about it. It's pissing me off."

Shane stays quiet for a bit.

"Ow!" I screech when some nurse jabs me with a needle. "What the fuck was that?!" I'm fully alert now.

The nurse looks at me. "I need to draw some blood for tests. Just relax, okay?"

"No! You're so not sticking anything in me without permission!" I yell at her.

I sit up and Shane puts his hand on my shoulder. "Hey, let the lady do her job, okay?"

I turn to him. "Shane you know about my fear of needles."

He nods. "Yeah, but it's better than dying now is it?"

I shake my head. "I'll take death, thank you."

Shane rolls his eyes. "Just get over it, you pussy. Here, you can hold my hand," he offers and I grab his hand, squeezing it as hard as I can. "Hey! That hurts!"

I smirk, but then scream when the nurse sticks the needle in me again. I dig my nails into Shane's hand, and he screams, too. "Holy Jesus Christ! Praise the lord! Shit! Oh god damn! Fuck, shit, ass, tits! Motherfucker this hurts! Praise the great lord! Save me, save me! Ahh!" I make a huge deal about it. "Help! I'm dying!"

"I already took it out!" the nurse says loudly over my screaming.

I look down at my arm. She didn't lie.

My bad.

"Owww," Shane complains, taking his hand back away from my death grip. His hand has little cuts in it. "Look what you did, Nate!"

I fake-cough. "Don't blame me; I'm so sickly."

"Can I have a Band-aid?" he asks and a nurse hands him one.

"Start him on antibiotics," Dr. Hansen says and leaves the room.

Shane and I look at each other when there's an awkward silence.

A nurse holds up another needle.

"Whoa, whoa, hold the show!" I say.

She pauses.

"You gonna put that in me?" I continue.

She nods.

I faint.


	37. Bromances

**Chapter 37**

I turn around when I hear someone calling my name.

It's Mitchie.

She runs up to me and catches her breath.

"Holy shit, what happened?" she asks.

I point to the door of the room that Nate's in. "Nate has some weird disease our dog died of."

Mitchie frowns. "I was at the concert… is he gonna be okay?"

"I hope so," I say.

Her giant purse falls down her arm, and she pulls it back up. "Can we go in the room?" she asks, signaling to the door.

I shake my head. "They won't let us in."

She sighs and leans up against the wall.

Jason comes over to us, holding a Snickers bar. "Hey Madeline!"

"My name is Mitchie!" Mitchie hisses, sending Jason a harsh look.

He frowns. "Fine. Don't take the Snickers bar," he says and unwraps the candy, eating it.

I lean up against the door and blow some air at my forehead, making a strand of hair fly up a bit.

Suddenly, the door opens, sending me flying backwards a bit. I run into the doctor that was coming out of the room and blush, laughing awkwardly. "My bad," I say.

The doctor looks very serious.

I suddenly frown. "How is he?" I ask.

"He's stable for now, but his liver is failing," she informs me.

I gulp. "Well is he gonna die?"

The doctor shakes her head. "We can operate to repair the damage caused by the Leptospirosis."

"Fine," I say, "do whatever."

"Well we need a parent or guardian to sign the forms. Are his parents here?"

"His parents are dead," I say.

"Okay well where's his guardian?"

I look over at Jason and we exchange worried glances.

"Uh…" I start.

She raises her eyebrows. "Where are they?"

I hesitate. "Well… I… Really, he doesn't have any parents. Jason, Nate, and I live together."

"Wait, so he has no guardian over the age of eighteen?" she asks.

I point to Jason. "Him," I say.

"_Legal_ guardian," she says.

Jason nods. "I'm legal. I've never gotten in jail before. And I don't drink. Or drive."

I kick him for being a retard. "She means like you have to have legally adopted him." I laugh a bit. "And that would be weird if you were his dad."

The doctor frowns. "Without a legal parent or guardian, we can't do the surgery."

"What!?" I exclaim. "Even if he's gonna die a horrible and terrible death you're not going to save him over some stupid signature?"

She nods. "I'm sorry but it's the law."

I turn to Jason. "I knew we should have moved to Canada right when Bush was elected!" I turn back to the doctor. "What if my parents sign it?"

She shakes her head.

"Well fuck!" I exclaim. "Damn this fucking country and their fucking rules!"

The doctor stares at me a bit.

"I'm sorry," I apologize. "I just really hate this place." I sigh. "And now my best friend is going to die because of it."

The doctor places her hand comfortingly on my shoulder. "I'm really sorry."

She starts to walk away, but I stop her.

"There has to be another way!" I call out after her.

She turns around.

I get that awful lump in my throat I always get before I cry. "You can't just let him die. There has to be another way."

"I'm really sorry," she says. She hesitates a moment and then walks away.

I stand there in a silent shock.

"Shane…" Mitchie starts.

I wipe away a stray tear and then go into the room. Nate is laying in the bed there, his eyes closed. The room is painted in this disgusting red colour, with just one window, the blinds closed. There's some random-ass painting of a tree and a barn over near a green chair.

I walk into the room.

Nate opens his eyes and smiles. "Hey," he whispers.

I just nod, and sniff a bit, wiping away freshly fallen tears.

"Why are you crying?" he frowns.

I shake my head and more tears come out.

"Are you like in love with me but afraid to tell me? Is this going to be a crazy-ass bromance?" he asks with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Nate is one of those people who can always make a joke about the worst scenario. He's the comic relief in life.

"You're gonna die," I say.

He lets out a huff of laughter. "No I'm not. Don't talk like that."

I nod. "You are. You need surgery, but because you don't have a legal guardian to sign those damn forms, you can't get it. So yeah, you really are gonna die."

Nate laughs. Then stares at me in horror. "Okay if your fucking with me, it isn't funny."

I try to hold back a sob, but it comes out as more of a gasp.

He looks around. "Okay, Ashton, you can come out any second now… This isn't funny… Dude, if you're fucking with me again, I swear…" He turns to me. "He isn't here. Oh my god, Shane! Why the hell isn't Ashton popping out of a bush saying, 'Nate, you just got punked?!'" He starts hyperventilating. "Fuck! Shit! Ass! Tits! I really am going to die!" Nate bursts out in tears. "I'm too young to die!"

Nate reaches over and pulls me into an over-friendly man hug.

I start crying. This is such a bromance.

Jason opens up the door. "Hey guys – holy shit! Sorry to interrupt!" He closes the door.

Nate pulls away from our hug. He wipes away some tears. "I can't believe it…"

"You know, this is only because we can't get a parent signature. That's the only reason," I say.

His jaw drops. "I'm going to die because of a stupid piece of paper? Damn it, let me forge the signature! I did it all the time in school."

I shake my head. "They're real assholes."

Jason knocks on the door. "Is it safe now?"

"Yeah," I call to him.

He and Mitchie come into the room. Nate is still sitting on the bed, sniffing, and I wipe away some tears when they come in.

I stand up. "That's it. Pack you're bags; we're moving to Canada."

Jason shakes his head. "No need to."

We all turn to Jason.

"I've decided to adopt Nate!"

"WHAT?!" Nate screeches.

Jason nods. "Yes. I'm going to sign those forms so that you don't die."

Nate's jaw drops. "Jason, you do realize that when you adopt me you'll be my… guardian. Which is gonna be so awkward since we're best friends."

"Well it's either that or you die."

Nate scoffs. "This doesn't seem like a good idea."

I turn to Nate a shake my head. "No. It is. For once Jason actually has a good idea."

Nate raises his eyebrows. "You can not be serious about this."

**A\N: Review becuase I'm gonna start this thing where until I get atleast 25 reviews, I will not put the next chapter up. And you guys will like the next chapter. So 25 and new chapter, yes?**


	38. Fighting And Grounding

**Chapter 38**

Much to Nate's dismay, we were serious.

It took some effort and cheating the government, but Jason is now Nate's official guardian. Which means he has a lot of power and authority over him.

Nate got his surgery – which he was actually really pissed about, even though now he won't die. I guess his fear of hospitals over took him.

We're going back home today. I'm helping Nate get his shirt on – he has this huge-ass scar on his stomach and has trouble getting dressed by himself. What is he? An old person?

Jason comes running into the room with his MacBook in hand, on a YouTube video. "You guys will never believe this!" he exclaims and plays the video.

The video is called, "Nate Jonas Puking Onstage."

Nate groans. "I don't want to watch it. I'll barf again."

But we watch it anyway.

It shows the clip of Nate barfing in slow-mo and I laugh so hard I nearly shit myself.

Nate hits me. "It's not funny."

I point to the screen. "In slow-mo, anything is funny!"

It's really gross because you can hear Nate gagging and barfing over the loudspeaker. I crack up laughing again.

"You're not a nice person!" he exclaims.

"Look, it's gotten like two million views," I say, amused by how popular Nate's near-death experience is on the internet.

Nate slams the laptop closed. "Really. It's not. That. Funny."

I scoff. "Can you not take a joke?"

"I can," he says. "Just not if it's aimed at me."

"Fine, fine. Whatever. I'll stop."

"Thank you."

I snicker a bit.

Nate hits me weakly.

"Careful," I mock, "you might rip your stitches out!"

He growls a bit. "Fucking dickface."

Suddenly, Mitchie comes running into the room. "Guys!" she exclaims. "You're on the cover!"

I turn to her and she tosses me a copy of People magazine. She was right. On the cover was a picture of all three of us from a photo shoot last year and it's a special double issue. Ooh!

Before I could even open the magazine, Nate already had ripped it out of my hands and tossed it into a nearby trashcan. "No read. Reading poisons your mind."

I frown at him. "Seriously?"

"I've only read one book my entire life and I've turned out fine. More than fine, actually, amazing. And I wouldn't be that way if I had read."

"Well," Mitchie butts in, "I've read plenty books in my lifetime and I turned out better than you."

"Uh huh, and who just got the cover of People magazine?" Nate shoots back.

"You only got the cover because you puked on stage. Even I could do that!"

"Yeah, well I barfed with more grace and beauty than your ever will-"

"Stop fighting!" I exclaim. "You people fight over the stupidest things!" I get the magazine out of the trashcan and hand it to Mitchie. "Take your magazine and hide it from Mr. Grouchypants here." I turn to Nate. "You go do something productive."

"Like what?" Nate asks.

I shrug. "What ever sick people do, I don't know."

"Oh so now you're racist against sick people. I see how it is."

"What? How is 'sick' suddenly a race?"

"Since you just made it one."

"Wha- That makes no sense!"

"Yes it does, you little racist!"

"Calling you sick is not racist, I don't know what you're smoking but-"

"Stop fighting!" Mitchie steps in.

Nate turns to Mitchie. "You know what Mitchie? You can take that magazine and shove it up your-"

"Easy there, children!" Jason exclaims.

"Oh, fuck you, Jason!" Nate fires back.

Jason gasps and the room gets silent. He pauses before saying, "That's it. You're grounded, mister."

"You're not the boss of me," Nate sneers.

"Oh yes I am," Jason says without skipping a beat. He pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket and opens it up. "Adoptions forms say I am."

"You can't be serious!" Nate wails.

Jason nods. "I am serious. As long as I am your guardian, you will treat me with more respect."

Nate growls. "Fucking bitch ass motherfucker…"

X X X

We went home. Nate is now grounded for a week. He's in the guest room right now and Jason took away his TV and laptop, leaving him with no source of entertainment except for – get this – a bible. A bible? Since when do we even have a bible?

Turns out Jason was serious about the whole grounding thing.

Jason, Kayla, Mitchie, and I are downstairs watching YouTube videos. We're currently watching Britney's new music video.

"Can I please come out of my room now?" We hear Nate say over the intercom.

Jason presses down the intercom button. "Thirty more minutes."

We hear a gasp. "Are you guys listening to 'Womanizer?' Please let me listen to it, too!"

"No can do," Jason says.

"Guys, this isn't fair!"

"My house, my rules!"

"Fuck you, Jason!"

"That's another hour added to your time."

"No! Jason! Please unlock my door!"

Yeah, Jason locked him in there, literally.

"Think about what you did first!"

"I already thought about it!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did!"

"No you didn't!"

"I'm gonna kill myself if you don't let me out!"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Yes I would! I'm gonna jump out the window! I swear I'll do it, Jason!"

"Nate, if you kill yourself, you're grounded for another week!"

"I'm opening the window…"

"Nate…"

"I'm gonna jump!"

"No you're not," Jason says skeptically.

Suddenly, we hear a scream and I look out the window, only to see Nate falling down and hitting the porch, crashing into the patio furniture.

I quickly stand up. "Holy shit, he actually jumped!" I quickly run out the door to the backyard only to see Nate standing there, his eyes so wide you would have thought he had just seen a ghost. He was shaking a bit. "Nate…"

He stares at me and slowly walks inside. I go inside and Nate is still standing there, silently trembling.

"Nate? Are you okay?" I ask.

He slowly shakes his head.

"Are you hurt?"

He shakes his head.

Then he starts crying.

Jason, Mitchie, and I exchange glances.

Kayla gets up from her seat and hugs Nate. "It's okay, Nate. My mummy would always tell me that it's gonna be alright. Always."

They pull away from their hug and Nate stands there, sniffing.

Jason turns to him and talks with a baby voice. "Do you want another hug?" Nate shakes his head. "You want a new computer?" Nate shakes his head. "You want to go to McDonald's?" Nate nods, sniffing. "Okay, let's go to McDonald's."

Nate wipes away some tears and they both start walking to the car.

I turn to Kayla and Mitchie. "You want to go with them?"

They both nod, so we follow Jason and Nate to the garage. We all hop in the car and Jason drives us down the street to McDonald's.

**A\n: I just found out the Jonas Brothers can't spell "Burning Up" right. Ha ha. Joe wrote "Burining Up." Silly boy, ha ha! I like the 25 rule, by the way. Review and save kitties! **


	39. The Devil Cat

**Chapter 39**

When we get to McDonald's, Jason pays for all of the food that will probably take years off of the ends of our lives and we all sit down at a booth.

Nate sniffs about every second and wipes away some tears occasionally, which kinda gets on my nerves, but I don't say anything. Because I'm a good person, that's why.

"Shane," Kayla starts, "can I go play on the playground?"

I shrug. "I don't care. You can do whatever you want." When I say that, I look over at Jason. "Unlike some people, I don't lock other people in their rooms when they say just one bad thing."

Jason looks over at me. "Wait, what'd you say?"

I shake my head. "Never mind."

Kayla gets out of the seat. "Okay! Come on, Nate, let's go play!" She grabs Nate's arm and pulls him.

"Ow! Ow! Easy there, Kayla!" Nate exclaims, running after her.

My phone starts ringing and I jump up in my seat by surprise, I look at the caller ID. It's… Gina? "Hello?" I say when I answer the phone. Why the hell is Gina calling me and where did she get my number?

"Shane!" Gina exclaims.

I turn around because that didn't come from the phone. Standing over to the right, over by the door, is Gina with my father. I can't help but to stare at her belly. She's a fucking whale.

She comes over to me and hugs me. "It's been a while since we've seen you."

I rub the back of my neck and laugh awkwardly. "Yeah."

"Why haven't you come home? Your parents miss you."

I want to say so badly, "You're not my mother!" But Instead, I say, "We miss you too." I mentally kick myself. Hell, I don't give two shits about Gina or DA.

"Your father and I are having a big Thanksgiving dinner to bring our family back together. We really want you to come."

"Uh, when?"

"Thursday around six."

"Yeah… I guess we could go…"

"Great! We'll see you then! Oh, and bring your friends too. It was nice to run into you, Shane."

I look down at my food when DA smiles at me.

"Okay," I say awkwardly. "Bye."

Mitchie, Jason, and I exchange glances.

"That couldn't have been more awkward," I say right when I was sure they had left. How the hell did they know I was here? Stalkers.

Jason nods in agreement. "Yeah. I know."

Nate and Kayla come back, worried expressions on their faces.

"Why was Gina here?" Nate asks. "What'd she want?"

The two sit down with us.

"She invited us to her Thanksgiving dinner." I tell him.

"You gonna go?" he asks.

"Are you going to go?" I ask.

He looks around a bit. "I was invited?"

I nod.

"Sweet! Now I don't have to make dinner this year!"

"Oh, no, no, no," Jason steps in. "Nate, you're grounded. You don't get to go."

"What?!" Nate exclaims. "That's so unfair!"

Jason shrugs. "You have to take responsibility for your actions. I said that if you killed yourself, you'd be grounded for another week."

"But I didn't die," Nate defends.

"Yeah, well you killed the patio furniture."

"Well that wasn't part of the deal. It was if I died."

"Well now I have to buy new patio furniture."

"Well it's not like we don't have billions of dollars!"

"Well you're the one who just had to throw yourself out the window!"

"Well you're the one who just had to lock my in that room in the first place, causing me the jump out the window!"

"Well you're the one who just had to say a bad word, causing me to lock you in that room, causing you to jump out the window, causing you to break the patio furniture, causing me to have to buy new furniture!"

"Well you're the one who just had to ground me, locking me in that room, causing me jump out the window, causing me to break the patio furniture, causing you to have to buy new furniture!"

"Well you're the one who just had to-"

I decide to step in here. "Okay! Enough!"

"He started it!" they both say, pointing to each other.

Face-palm. I sigh. "Okay, this is not good for my mental health, you two."

"Jason is too controlling!" Nate exclaims.

"Well Nate is a troubled child!" Jason fires back.

Nate turns to him. "Troubled child? Who the hell are you calling a troubled child? I'm not the one who brings diseased Canadian chickens home!"

"Don't make fun of Rémi! It wasn't his fault he was diseased!"

"Well you're the one who brought it home!" Nate turns to me. "I bet you a million dollars that chicken is the reason why I got sick!"

"I bet you a trillion dollars it was all the dogs fault!" Jason says, turning to Kayla.

"Whoa, whoa!" Kayla exclaims. "I didn't give the chicken whatever it was!"

"I know, but it was your dog," Jason points out.

"So? He wasn't diseased!"

"He could have been!"

"But he wasn't! Elvis was a purebred!"

"So was Rémi!"

"Rémi was not a purebred. He was a hobo!"

"Rémi was not a hobo! He just didn't have a home or a family!"

"That's what hobo means, you idiot!"

Mitchie stands up. "This is stupid. I'm out."

I stand up too. "I'm with you on this one."

We both leave those three immature peoples and walk over to a different table with our food.

We sit down far away from them, and we can't hear them anymore, which is good.

"That was crazy," Mitchie says, stuffing a fry in her mouth.

I nod. "That's how my father and mother would always fight. They always got into stupid little fights over nothing. It was so childish."

Mitchie frowns. "Is that why your parents got divorced?"

I nod. "They wouldn't stop fighting."

"Want to know my idea why they're all fighting over pets?" Mitchie asks.

I look up. "Why?"

"They need a family pet… I think you guys should get a new pet. One that you all can agree on that isn't diseased. Like a cat or something." Mitchie suggests.

Hey, that's not a bad idea. "That'd be good."

Mitchie nods. "I also think the reason why Jason is being so protective of Nate is because he's the only thing Jason has even close to a kid of his own. If you got a cat, Jason would baby it instead, and leave Nate alone."

I put my cheeseburger down. "How are you so brilliant?"

"I go to school," she says with a hint of amusement in her voice.

X X X

When we go back home, Mitchie leaves do go her homework. I'm so glad I'm not in school anymore. I'm just coming downstairs from visiting Nate in his prison when Jason stops me on the stairs.

"Shane, I want to have a baby," he says.

I stand there, shocked a bit. "Jason, I think you've mistaken me for someone with a vagina."

He frowns. "No, like adopt a girl from Japan or something."

I shake my head. "That's too crazy. What if we get a cat instead?" Yeah, I just used something Mitchie suggested for me.

Jason raises his eyebrows. "Would I be able to pick this cat out?"

I shrug. "Yeah." Mitchie told me about this cat breeder where she got her cat. None of her cats are diseased.

He smiles. "Seriously?"

I nod. "Why not?"

Jason jumps up and down and squeals. I look at him like he's crazy. "Oh, this is so exciting! I'll go get Nate and Kayla; let's go get us a kitty!"

I smile. Jason runs upstairs and gets them.

I pull on my jacket, and we all three get in the car. I tell Jason how to get to the breeder's house, which is surprisingly close to our house, and we all go inside. The place reeks of cat, but the house is gigantic. A couple of cats cross past me – good lord, how many cats does this crazy cat lady have?

The cat breeder smiles. "Are you here to get a new feline friend?"

I nod. "We want a family cat. One that can cuddle up with you."

"I'm Isobel," she says, holding out her hand for me to shake it, so I shake her hand. "The cats are over here."

Crazy Cat Lady leads us to a different wing of the house, which is filled with cats. Is it even legal to have this many cats in one house?

She picks up a fluffy white one. "This is Princess. She loves kids."

Kayla walks over to Princess. "Aww." She reaches out to pet her, but Princess hisses at her. Kayla jumps in surprise and hides behind me.

"Oh dear," Crazy Cat Lady says, and puts the cat somewhere else.

Jason picks up one of the cats. "Aww!" he gushes.

The crazy cat lady nods. "That's Lucky."

I pick up a fluffy black kitten. "Hey, Jase, you should get this one," I say and turn around to face him. I gasp and almost drop the cat when I see what Jason is holding. "Jason, put that thing down! How many times have I told you not to touch road kill?"

"This," Jason says, holding out the thing, "is Lucky."

I raise my eyebrows. "That's a cat?"

He nods. "And I'm gonna get her."

_"Merrghh."_

"What the hell was that?" I ask.

_"Merrgaha."_

Jason smiles. "Aww, Lucky's purring!"

I look at the cat. "Ew. It sounds like a dying platypus." I study the cat. It's missing an eye, half an ear, a leg, half a tail, and most of its fur. I turn to the cat lady. "Did you dig it up from the ground or something?"

She frowns. "Lucky was hit by a bus."

My jaw drops. "Jason, we are not bringing road kill home!"

He shakes his head. "We have to get Lucky. She's a symbol that even though bad things happen, we always find a way to survive everything."

_"Merrghh."_

"Well make sure it doesn't touch me," I say and pick up a regal-looking brown cat. "Are you sure you don't want this one?"

Jason shakes his head. "We're getting Lucky."

Nate comes up to us holding a ginger cat. "Guys, check this out. This cat has six toes on each foot! How cool is that?" He looks at Lucky and gasps in horror. "Jason! I thought I told you not to pick up road kill!"

He frowns. "Not road kill."

Nate points to it. "Yes it is!"

I nod. "It is."

Jason holds Lucky close to him. "I don't care what you think. Lucky is going to be apart of our family whether you like it or not!"

I close my eyes and sigh. He really is going to get the road kill cat.

This cat has so many things wrong with it. Where do we start? The sick hair, wrinkly skin, the bat ears, the bony hips and shoulders, the oversized green eyes, or the bleary-eyed, McDonald's-eating look on his face?

Bad thing, getting this cat, I'll say.

X X X

We take Lucky home after a huge fight – Jason won – and when we set Lucky down in our house. She starts sniffing the floor and then looks at us. Then she runs under the couch.

I turn to Jason. "Look, the thing already hates us. That's it, we're taking it back."

"No!" Jason protests. "Just give her some time!"

I sigh.

"Why don't you go and introduce yourself to Lucky?" Jason suggests.

I look at Jason like he's crazy, but then Jason pushes me forward, so I go over to the couch and get down on my stomach. I look under the couch and see the road-kill cat huddled over in the corner, glaring at me.

"Hi Lucky," I say in my best baby voice.

It stares at me with its huge eyes.

I slowly reach my hand over to pet her, but then the road-kill cat suddenly hisses, shoots her paws forward, grabs my hand, digging its claws into me, and I scream, jumping up. I end up hitting my head on the couch and the damn cat won't let go of my hand. I shake it off and then quickly get out from under couch. The cat is still making disgusting hissing noises and I shiver a bit, holding my injured hand.

I stand up and slowly back away from the couch, shuddering. "Holy shit," I breathe.

"Oh my god, what just happened?" Nate asks.

"It… it…" I shudder again.

Kayla wraps her arms around me. "It's okay."

Jason goes under the couch and gets Lucky out. He stands up holding the devil cat in his arms. "You guys have issues," he says, taking the cat in the other room.

When Jason walks away, the cat leers at us and we all jump in surprise.

I turn to Nate. "We're taking the cat from Hell back."

**A\N: If you want to see a picture of Lucky, I put a link on my profile picture. My mum thinks it's hilarious. You guys are only 25 reviews away from the next chapter. **


	40. The Cat, The Bitch, And The Baby

**Chapter 40**

"Hey, someone go feed Nate," Jason says as we're sitting at the table eating breakfast Thursday morning.

"You feed him," I say, gobbling up some waffles. "He's your kid."

"Yeah, well I'm too lazy to go up there right now."

I groan. "Fine! I'll go feed him. I need to take a shower anyway," I bring my plate to the sink and get a new one for Nate, putting a muffin, some strawberries, and a waffle and grab the key before going over to the stairs.

"Oh and will you let him out to play, too?" Jason asks.

"What is he? A dog?" I call to him and walk upstairs.

I knock on the door. "Nate! Breakfast!" I unlock the door and Nate comes up to me.

"It's about time you fed me! You do realize that you didn't give me dinner last night," he says, taking the food from me.

"Jason forgot to feed you," I say. "When you're done eating, come downstairs." I leave the room and head over to my bedroom, turning on the shower. When the water's warm, I step in and wash my hair.

When I'm done, I step out of the shower, and wrap a towel around me.

I walk out of the bathroom, a little bit of steam comes out. Ha, I'm so McSteamy.

Suddenly, Lucky has one of her "Call Of The Wild" episodes, and leaps on me. I scream and start running. Lucky has her claws digging into my leg and I manage to grab a broom, smacking the cat from Hell with it.

"Jesus Fucking Christ, Cat!" I scold it.

It looks at me and hisses, running away.

That's the fifth time that's happened. "Jason!" I yell downstairs. I head down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Jason, your fucking cat attacked me again!"

As if on cue, the devil cat herself scampers past me. She ran up the curtains and finally got on the top of the pantry door and crouched there, hissing.

"And I was going to get some band-aids, but I guess it won't let me in the pantry now. Great," I say and sit down at the table. My hair was still dripping, and it plops cold water on my shoulders.

"Just go through the door," Jason says. "She'll hop down."

I stand up and look at Lucky. She hisses and I slowly open the door. Only she strikes out with her huge paw and I back away quickly. I think she is part cat, part cobra. I then go into the closet and grab a broom. I bring it up to Lucky and she growls at me a bit.

Then I ruffle her fur a bit with it and she flashes me her jaws of death.

She still doesn't come down.

I start smacking her with it and then she mews at me ferociously and leaps down onto my head, hissing. I scream.

Lucky jumps off and runs off under the couch.

"Holy shit!" I exclaim. "Jason, your cat is bazonkers!" I open up the pantry and grab the first-aid kit, tending to my wounds.

Nate comes downstairs, a round pillow tuck underneath his shirt. "Guess who I am!"

He's obviously trying to make the appearance that he's pregnant. I shrug.

"I'm Miley Cyrus!" he exclaims.

We all look at him like he's crazy.

He frowns and takes the pillow out, throwing it on the floor. "You guys are no fun."

X X X

Around five, Mitchie rings the doorbell. I answer it and she's wearing a nice skirt and blouse. "Hey," I say.

"Hi," she says, entering the house.

Kayla comes over to us. "Hi Mitchie," she greets.

"Hi sweetie!" Mitchie exclaims, giving Kayla a hug.

"We ready to go?" I ask when Jason comes back over to us.

Jason nods. "We just need to give Nate some food."

"I'll give him some pizza," I say, going over to Jason. "Where's the key?"

He hands me the key to the room – yes, Nate is still locked in there – and I heat up some pizza before walking up the stairs. I knock on the door. "You hungry, Nate?" When I don't get a reply, I knock again. "Nate?" I unlock the door and go inside. Lucky runs out of the room. The lights are off, so I turn them back on.

When I turn the lights on, I don't see Nate. "Nate? Where are you?" I walk into the room and look around. Right as I turn around, I see Nate sitting in the corner in a fetal position, shivering, and his eyes wide. "Nate? Are you okay?"

"Close the door!" Nate hisses frantically.

I close the door and walk over to him. "Why are you in the corner?"

"J-J-Jason locked m-me in here with L-Lucky," he stutters. "It was so scary, Shane!"

I go over to him and pick him up, hugging him. "Shh, it's gonna be okay."

Nate sniffs a bit. "I thought I was going to die."

"It's okay, Nate," I soothe. "It's all over now." I hold out the pizza. "Take your pizza."

Nate smiles a bit. "Pizza!" he takes a bite of it and frowns. "Reheated pizza? God, you guys are so mean!"

I look around and then whisper, "I'll get you some Thanksgiving food tonight."

He gasps with excitement.

"And I'll leave the door unlocked. But you gotta make sure you lock it again when we come back."

Nate squeals a bit.

"Shh!" I say and mouth, "You're welcome." I walk out the door and leave it unlocked as I leave.

I head down the stairs. "Alright people, Nate has been fed, let's go."

"Wait! We need Lucky!" Jason exclaims running into the other room. He takes the cat from Hell over here.

"Aww!" Mitchie gushes. "What a cute little rat you have!"

Jason frowns. "Lucky's a cat."

"Oh. Oh… Oh, that's just gross!"

"Don't make fun of her! She got hit by a bus!"

"Okay can we go?" I ask. I open the door and we all pile out – the cat included – and we head down the street to Gina and DA's house.

When I see the house, all these old memories come back, and I feel like my heart stops beating for a moment. I walk up the stairs and ring the doorbell. Gina answers with a warm smile and we all walk inside.

Gina frowns when she sees the cat. "Jason, dear, what is that thing you are holding?"

Jason looks hurt. "It's Lucky."

"And Lucky is a… Cat?"

He nods.

Gina looks at Lucky and then turns around. "Okay, let's just go eat dinner now."

We all sit down at the long dinner table in the formal room we never go in except for Thanksgiving dinner. The table was very nicely decorated. I sat down in the chair I built – well, assembled together with crazy glue and some nails – and noticed someone was missing.

DA.

I look around. "Where's Dad?" I ask Gina.

"He went to go pick up Gregory," she says.

"Oh," I say.

Shit.

Gregory's coming.

Hey, maybe since my friends are here, I won't get pummeled to the ground.

Or maybe not.

We all sit there in an awkward silence, Jason petting that cat, and wait for DA and Gregory to come back.

I look at my watch. "Are they ever coming? I'm hungry."

Gina stands up. "I'll go call him." She walks into the other room.

Mitchie and I exchange glances when Jason starts speaking baby talk to Lucky.

Gina comes back in the room. "They won't answer their phones."

"Can we eat without them?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "This is a family dinner."

Yeah. Some family we are. We're not a family. We're just four unfortunate people who just so happen to have the same last name.

I wonder if it's legal for me to change my name. Miley Cyrus did it, so why can't I?

Suddenly, I hear something spill. I immediately look over at Jason. "Okay, what'd you do this time?" I ask.

"Nothing," he says.

I look over at Mitchie. "What was that noise."

"Oh shit," I hear Gina say.

I look over at her. "What? What just happened?"

She looks at me. "My water just broke."

I stand up. "Holy shit!"

"Call 911!" Jason exclaims, rising.

"No, don't call an ambulance!" Mitchie exclaims, hopping up. "Just drive her to a hospital."

"We're all gonna die!" Jason says, running in a random circle, knocking over a chair.

"Don't panic!" Mitchie yells.

"I can't not panic!" Jason says, falling on the floor. "Ahh!"

"Shut up!" Mitchie says, pulling Jason back up to his feet.

Gina kept standing there, in shock. "Robert isn't here… The baby's coming! I'm freaking out, guys!"

Mitchie runs over to her. "Okay, Shane, you call your father and see where he is. Jason, you drive us to the hospital, okay?"

Jason nods and we go outside, into the car.

X X X

I think I've called my father's cell phone about a million times. He refuses to answer. And it's been about three hours. Mitchie, Kayla, Jason, Nate, and I are sitting in the hospital waiting room. When I called Nate and told him Gina was having her baby, he begged Jason to come and wait with us.

Now he's as bored as hell.

He's sitting in a chair uplsidown. "I'm so bored! When can we go?"

"When my father comes," I say. "Gina won't let me leave until she's sure she has someone here for her."

"I'm hungry," Nate says, sliding out of the chair, onto the ground. "Can I have a dollar, Jason?"

Jason hands him a buck and Nate goes over to the vending machine. He comes back with some M and Ms.

I try calling my father again. Goes straight to answering machine. You'd think he'd realize that maybe, just maybe, his wife is having her baby and is at the hospital. Maybe he and Gregory are so drunk they can't move. That's probably it.

"Shane Grey?" I hear a voice.

I turn around. It's Gina's doctor.

"Yeah?"

"Your step-mum wants you," he says.

I look around awkwardly. "Right now?"

He nods so I stand up, walking into the delivery room. Right as I go in there, I have to shield my eyes. "Gross!" I exclaim.

"Shane, will you be my labour coach?" Gina asks.

I take a peek out from my covered eyes. "Wait, are you being serious?"

She nods and some nurse gives me gloves and puts some sort of apron-type thing on me. This only makes me freak out even more.

"I don't know if I can, Gina. This whole thing is… it's disgusting. I'll just call Dad again. He'll come."

Gina shakes her head. "He's not coming and the baby's almost here. Shane, I need you-" She pauses here to scream a bit.

I scream, too, and cover my eyes.

"Damn it Shane, come over here and help me!" she exclaims. "Don't be such a pussy!"

I whimper a bit and go over to her side. Oh thank the lord I can't see any of that… lady business from over here. "Gina, this is a bad idea; I don't know what I'm doing. I'm only fifteen!"

"Okay, here comes another contraction," the doctor says.

I quickly cover my ears and close my eyes tightly. When Gina starts screaming, I do too, only louder than she is and I keep screaming until she hits me on the arm.

"Shane, you're not being very helpful!"

"Well I'm scared! This is… this is just bad. And gross. And scary. The whole idea of a baby coming out of…" I shudder.

Ten minutes later and I find myself yelling, "Push!"

And then I find myself getting all queasy and having to sit down.

"Shane," Gina breathes, "I can't do it. Will you do it for me?"

I shiver just thinking about shoving a baby out of me and cover my eyes again.

"Okay, he's almost out," the doctor says.

This whole birthing thing does not sound fun. I quickly thank the flying spaghetti monster for making me a boy.

One last push and scream fest and the baby's out. I uncover my eyes and walk over to Gina. She's holding her new son, a wide smile spread across her face. I smile too, and she hands me the baby. I hold my new half brother and I couldn't be any happier.

"Say hello to Maynard, Shane," Gina says.

"Hi May-" I pause and frown. "Maynard?"

Gina nods. "I've decided to name him Maynard."

My jaw drops. "Maynard? Are you fucking kidding me?"

She looks upset. "I think Maynard is a beautiful name."

"You might as well just write 'I'm a loser' on his forehead with a sharpie right now," I say. "The half-brother of a rock star can not be named Maynard!"

Gina frowns. "Well what do you want his name to be?"

"Anything but Maynard."

"Well, I'll let you pick out the middle name," she says.

I think about this for a moment. She's letting me name her baby. Well, his middle name, but you know he's going to go by his middle name. "Daniel," I say after much consideration.

"Maynard Daniel Gray," Gina smiles. "I like it."

Daniel Maynard Gray.

Meh, we'll just have to make sure no one finds out about his real legal first name.

I hand Daniel to Gina.

"Thank you," Gina says.

"For what?" I ask.

"For being here."

"You probably would have been better off without me," I say and walk out of the room. When I don't see my friends and sister in the waiting room, I take out my phone. Sure enough, there was a text message from Jason.

_"Shane- we went home. Meet us there."_

Figures they wouldn't wait around. Hell, I wouldn't stay if I were them. I leave the hospital – my house is close so I don't mind walking.

There are like no cars on the street right now. It's Thanksgiving, remember?

When I get home, I announce, "I'm home!"

Nate is sitting in the living room, the lights are turned off but the TV is on. He's eating a pint of ice cream, wrapped up in a blanket.

"Nate?" I ask.

He turns. "Hey. Watching TV."

"I can see," I say. "And Jason ungrounded you?"

Nate shakes his head. "Not ungrounded. He told me to come down here and watch TV and eat ice cream. I don't know why, but I don't question his motives."

That's odd. Jason is real strict. Why would he tell Nate to do this of all things?

Something smells fishy and I'm pretty sure it's not the tuna in Lucky's food bowl. Damn cat… Where is she anyway?

I head upstairs and hear something squeaky… springy… Hmm. It's coming from Jason's room.

"Jason?" I ask and open the door to his bedroom.

Right when I open the doors and see what – or who – was inside it, I wanted to crawl into a dark, little cave, curl up, and die.

There on Jason's bed, was Mitchie and Jason… getting all physical if you know what I mean.

Mitchie gets a deer-in-the-headlights look and wraps the sheets around her. She slaps Jason. "How could you?" she asks like she's the victim. She looks over at me. "Shane, please control your friend. He jumped on me… it isn't what you think!"

"Mitchie, would you like a ride home?" I ask politely.

Bitch.

**A\N: Review and save kitties!**


	41. The Ninth Crime

**Chapter 41**

"Shane… it isn't… I didn't…" Mitchie trails off, looking for something to say.

I look over Jason, who looks completely shocked. I know for a fact that this so wasn't his idea. He would never screw me over voluntarily.

"You didn't what?" I ask. "Rape me and blamed it on some twin sister? And then get together with me, only to sleep with my best friend? You know what? I bet you don't even have a twin sister."

"Shane, you gotta believe me," she says.

I shake my head. "I can't believe you."

"It's not…"

"Yes. It is." I pause. "You know what? Get the hell out of my house."

"Shane… Can we talk about this?"

"No," I say. "Leave."

"Sha-"

"Leave before I do something rash!" I yell.

Mitchie wraps the sheet around her tighter. "I'm not leaving until we talk about this. Shane, please."

"Get the fuck out of here!" I practically scream. I grab her arm and pull her downstairs.

"Shane! You have to give me another chance!" she wails.

When we get downstairs, I open the door and practically push her outside. I lock the door when she's out there.

Only too bad for me, I have one of those glass doors, so I see her, standing in the snow with nothing but a sheet on, crying her eyes out. She's banging on the door. "Please let me in," she sobs. "It's so cold out here."

Even though I have so much rage and hate build up inside, I can't stand to do this to her.

I unlock the door and she steps inside, hugging me. "Thank you… thank you."

I push her away. "You stay; I'll go." I grab my coat and leave the house.

When I get down the stairs, I zip my jacket up and walk as far and as fast away as I can go.

"Shane! Shane!" I hear a voice calling after me.

At first I assume that it's Mitchie's so I keep walking, but then Nate appears by my side so I stop.

"What just happened?" he asks, catching his breath.

"Mitchie's a big fat liar, that's what happened."

"Want to know what I do when I totally get screwed over?" Nate asks.

"What?"

He reaches into the pocket of his jeans and pulls out a plastic baggie.

"What the fuck is that?" I ask.

Nate opens up the bag. "Magic 'shrooms."

"Why the hell do you have them in your pocket?"

"What do you think I've been doing in my room all alone for the past week?"

He hands me one of the mushrooms.

"We should go to Vegas," he whispers, a smirk on his face.

"Okay, there's a few things wrong with that. First of all, we're in New Jersey. Secondly, I can't drive us to Vegas because I can't drive. And thirdly, won't we get caught for doing illegal drugs?"

Nate snatches the mushroom away from me. "I didn't mean the real Vegas, you idiot! I meant the fake one."

"There's a fake Vegas?"

He smirks again. "When you're tripping like I am, there is."

I raise my eyebrows. "Show me, Magic Mushroom Master."

Nate laughs and we go back home, only we enter through the back gate. We go through the first level into his room.

We stand there.

There's nothing magical about this place.

"Why are we standing in the middle of your bedroom?" I ask.

Nate holds up a finger and then opens his closet, revealing some clothes.

"Great. A closet."

"Go into the closet," he says.

"And then what? I'll go to Narnia?" I step into his closet. "This is total bull shit Nate," I say and part his clothes. Suddenly, I see a door. I turn around. "Since when is there a door in here?"

"Go inside!" Nate says. He sounds so excited like he's about to piss his pants.

I hesitantly open the door and go into it.

It's dark.

But then Nate turns on a light and I see some neon coloured chairs. They're blow-ups.

"Since when is this here?" I ask.

"It's my own little hiding place," he says, sitting on the blow-up couch. "I made it to hide from the Nazis. Also known as you and Jason."

I sit in a pink armchair and look around. There's a lava lamp in the corner. "Groovy," I say.

He hands me a mushroom. "Use it wisely, my friend."

X X X

I run my hands through Nate's curly hair and giggle.

"What's so funny?" he asks, totally stoned out of his mind.

"Your hair is so springy… It's exciting!" I laugh and bounce my hand on it a few times.

Nate starts laughing and he puts his hand on his head. Then his hand gets stuck in his hot-mess of hair. "Shit, I can't get it out!" he laughs.

"Don't worry," I say, going over to him. "I got this." I grab his hand and try to pull it out, but it won't budge. "Your hair is one tangled disaster."

"Cut it out or something," he says. "There are scissors somewhere around here."

I stand up and look around. Have I ever told you it's really hard to stand up, let alone walk and look for something when you're high?

I manage to find scissors somehow, and I chop off some of Nate's hair, getting his hand unstuck.

Nate laughs.

And then we have this awkward silence.

God, I hate awkward silences.

And then Nate leans in really close to me.

And we look at each other for a bit.

And then we kiss.

It wasn't one of those small pecks on the cheeks; it was a full on make-out session.

If I weren't so high, I wouldn't have gone at him for a second time.

Or taken off his shirt.

And I bet I wouldn't have cut part of his hair off. He's gonna be so-o-o-o pissed when we're not stoned anymore. I wonder what he'll think when he sees that half of his hair is lobbed off?

Well, it was his idea for me to cut it.

His bad.

Nate takes off my shirt and we do some more full-frontal snogging.

And then the door opens.

And Kayla stands there looking very surprised. She says, "Nate? Shane?"

And we both look over at her and start giggling.

"Jason's gonna be really mad at you Nate."

She leaves and we kiss again, and I end up falling over.

About a minute later, the door opens again, revealing a really pissed-off Jason. "Nate!" he says, coming over to us and separating us. "What did I tell you about getting so high you start making out with inappropriate people?"

"What did I tell you about having sex with other people's girlfriends?" I ask, stoned off my ass.

Jason glares at me and then drags Nate and me out of Vegas. We laugh all the way out of Narnia and Jason puts Nate in his bed and says, "Stay here, Nate, or I will ground you for a longer time."

"Aye-aye, Captain Sparkly Butt," he giggles.

Jason then drags me out of the room, closing Nate's door, taking me over to the stairs. Every time I try to go up the stairs, I get all dizzy and trip over every stair. Jason gave up and carried me up the stairs, putting me on the couch in the living room.

He says, "Goodnight Shane."

I say, "Goodnight Captain Sparkly Butt."

And then I laugh my ass off and fall off the couch.

X X X

I ended up sleeping on the floor with no blanket because I couldn't get back on the couch.

I wake up when I feel someone kicking me. I open my eyes and close them immediately. Too bright. They keep kicking me. "Fuck off, Jason." They keep kicking me. "I said, fuck off, Jason." I finally open my eyes and see Nate standing there, holding a cup of coffee. "You're not Jason."

"We should talk about this," Nate says with all the seriousness in the world.

"Five more minutes," I say, closing my eyes again.

But I guess I can't have five more minutes, because Nate pulls me up off of the ground.

"Fine! I'm up, I'm up," I say, using the help of the couch to get to my feet.

We walk into Nate's room and we talk. And talk. And talk.

And then we play Uno.

It was fun.

Because I won.

Hey, that rhymed.

X X X

That night when we were eating dinner, I hear the doorbell ring.

"You go get it," I say. "Too lazy."

Jason stands up and answers the door. I hear a surprised, "Mitchie?"

This gets my attention. I whip around and sure enough, the cheating bitch herself is standing there. I audibly groan.

But Kayla glares at me. "Mitchie is a good person," she says.

She doesn't know because she was sleeping.

I stand up and go into the main entrance where Jason and that bitch were. "Hello, Mitch," I spit.

She stares at me a bit and then says, "I came here to apologize."

I soften up a bit.

"I know what I did was really wrong," she continues. "I don't know how it happened but Jason and I were talking and…"

I stay silent. Because, I'm speechless. I'm shocked that she had the courage to drag her sorry ass over here and apologize to my face.

"And about what happened at that party, which seemed like ages ago. I was drunk. And high. And I didn't know what I was doing." She pauses and waits for me to say something, but I don't. "I just… I feel awful. And horrible about the whole thing. Like everything. Maybe you picked the wrong girl in the library."

"Maybe," I say.

She sympathetically smiles. "Well I guess this is good-bye forever."

I frown. "But I don't want the story to be over."

"It has to end eventually," she says. "There's a last page to every book. "

Then she walks away. She leaves my house and I look out the window and watch her walk away, adjusting her red scarf in the cold, cold, November night.

Jason and I look at each other and then we head back to the table.

And we eat our food in silence.

There was nothing to say, nothing to be said.

When we finish, Kayla says, "What's for pudding?"

I shrug and say, "Jason, what do we have?"

He stands up and looks in the pantry. "We haven't anything, I'm sorry. I'll go shopping tomorrow."

Kayla frowns. "But we always have pudding after dinner."

"What if we go out to Maggie Moo's?" Nate suggests.

"Maggie Moo's!" Kayla screeches and jumps up.

I haven't been to Maggie Moo's in forever.

"Fine," I say, standing up. "Ice cream it is."

Kayla starts hopping up and down. We all laugh a bit at my sister's excitement over ice cream, and we all head over to the garage. Nate and Jason hop in the front, and Kayla and I sit in the backseats.

Jason pulls out of our driveway and we head out. It's snowing. I love the snow.

Kayla laughs and draws a tic-tac-toe board on the window. "Play with me, Shane," she says and draws an 'X' in the middle.

I lean over and draw an 'O' in the bottom left-hand corner.

And just for a split second, I look out the front window and regret that I had. I wanted to go back and write another 'X' on the window, but my eyes were glued as to what was happening.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. As if a clock were ticking.

The car's headlights flashed in my eyes.

_Tick, tick, tick._

Jason frantically turning the steering wheel.

_Tick, tick, tick._

The sound of metal against metal.

_Tick, tick, tick._

Our car flipping over and crashing to the ground.

_Tick, tick, tick. _

I can't move. I can't breathe. I can't think.

_Tick, tick, tick. _

Slowly, I pull myself together. I crawl out of the wreckage. Broken glass cuts my hands as I pull myself out. I catch my breath and look around. Luckily, we were going slowly, so the destruction is not nearly as bad as it would be if we were going fast.

I hear sirens.

_Tick, tick, tick._

I look to my left and see my two best friends unconscious in the car. But I can't see Kayla.

_Tick, tick, tick. _

I look down and see Kayla's 'K' necklace on the ground. I pick it up and hold it in my hands. It's cold. So, so, cold.

_Tick, tick, tick. _

Over to my right is the other car. And in that car, there is a man. And in that man, there is a cold, black heart. A heart of an alcohol abuser. A heart of a killer.

And I stand here in the cold, November night. And cry.

I'm standing here crying.

Crying.

Crying.

Because that man is my father.

The ninth crime.


	42. Epilouge

**Epilogue **

**Three years later**

What should I wear?

I stand in front of the mirror, checking over myself a billion times.

I look in the mirror and see Nate standing behind me in the doorway.

"You look fine," he says, walking into my room.

"I don't know," I say, readjusting my tie.

"Lose the tie," he says. "We're going to a prison, not a grand ball."

I take off the tie and toss it on my bed.

"Are you ready?" he asks.

I turn around and actually face him. "I haven't seen him in three years, don't rush me."

He gives me an encouraging half-smile.

"I don't think I'm ready," I say, shaking my head.

Nate frowns. "You've been saying this for the past month. You're going to have to face him sooner or later."

I close my eyes and take in a deep breath. "It is just so hard to be in my position right now, you don't even know."

Nate pulls me into a friendly man hug. "I know."

"He killed my sister and best friend. I don't think I can talk to him."

"You said you wanted to, though."

"I know I said-"

"You're going."

I look down at my feet.

Ever since that November night, I've been a more shy, quiet, cautious person. I don't say more than one word per sentence, usually. Nate tells me he thinks I'm emo. Not emo, just…

"You can't back out of this. You've been trying to do this for too long. I will not let you not go."

I look up.

"You," he continues, "need to march in there and be like, 'Dad, this is what I'm going to say and you're going to listen.'"

"I can't call him 'dad' anymore," I say bitterly. I brush past Nate, and go into my bathroom, locking the door behind me.

I hear a knock. "Shane, open the door."

"I feel like I'm going to throw up," I say.

"You always say that," he says.

"Because I always do."

"Not all the time."

"Yes. All the time. It's been three years. I can't do this."

"Three's our lucky number," Nate says. "Connect Three."

"Connect Two," I correct him. I open the door.

Nate and I just look at each other. We don't have to say a word, because we both know what we're thinking. Nate nods his head towards the door, so we silently head out of my room.

I walk down the hall. The walls have never looked so pukish green before. I look into Kayla's old room and can almost see her in there on her computer.

I look into Jason's old room and see that damn cat, Lucky, napping on his perfectly made bed. Even though I hate that cat with a passion, I know Jason wouldn't want me to get rid of it. Plus, she's the only thing I have left of him.

I hang onto the railing and slowly head down the stairs. I breathe in deeply, but the familiar smell of Jason's cologne no longer lingers around, and Kayla's slightly hampsterish scent had vanished long ago.

Slowly, I get in my car and Nate drives out of our driveway. I look back at our house.

And when we got to it, it seemed to happen in slow motion. I see my old house, the one I grew up in.

But instead of seeing my mother and father, Kayla and me, I saw the people who bought my house. The Montgomery's.

They were playing in their yard. Father Montgomery and Son Montgomery were building a snowman. Daughter Montgomery was making a snow angel, and Mother Montgomery was laughing, drinking hot cocoa.

And as we passed by my old house, I couldn't help but to think that that could have been me building a snow man with my father and having a good time. That could have been Kayla making a snow angel, and that could have been Mummy laughing with a cup of cocoa.

But soon that scene that made my stomach do flip-flops was gone, and we were on our way to the prison again.

We stopped in the parking lot and I look at the dull, gray building. That's where my father will be staying for most of his life.

I look over at Nate for support. He looks at me and then we head into the building. When we go inside, we get led over to where my father was. And I sat down in the chair with the telephone; my father was on the other side of the transparent glass wearing a disgusting orange jumpsuit.

He groped the wall for the telephone but found it.

I spoke first. "I hope you're happy."

"What?" he asks, confused.

"I. Hope. You're. Happy," I say again, slower, like he's mentally handicapped.

He stays silent.

I look my father in the eyes. "I wish you could see," I say. I pause for a bit. "I wish you weren't blind so that you could see the destruction you caused. I wish you could see the bruises you gave me. I wish you could see Kayla, your own daughter lying there in that casket. I wish you could see the new prison cell you're going to be spending an awful lot of time in. I wish you could see the family that was torn into ity bity pieces and ground into the pavement. But most of all, I wish you could see Hell when you go there.

"And I hope you do realize that all of this pain, hate, and tears were caused by you. _You_ are the reason why I used to cry myself to sleep at night after you killed Mummy. _You _are the reason why I've been torn apart. _You_ are the reason why last night I tried to kill myself. And you're also the reason why I cry myself to sleep now because you killed my sister and best friend.

"So I hope you're happy. I hope you're satisfied and can sleep at night knowing what you did to us. Because we could have been so happy. We could have been a happy family that gave each other Hanukkah presents and lit menorahs together. We could have been that family that decorated the Christmas tree together.

"We could have been that family that people would pass by and say, 'Look at that happy family. They must be so… happy.'

"But instead of us decorating the Christmas tree together, I'm burying the people that meant the world to me. Instead of us lighting menorahs, I'm crying so hard I can't cry anymore.

"So I hope you're happy."

And after that, my father cries a single tear. It runs down his scarred face, leaving a translucent streak. "Shane… I'm so, so sorry."

I shake my head. "No. You're not sorry." I stare at him. "I hope you die."

I don't think I've ever said that phrase with so much hate and sincerity before.

I hang up the phone and look at him. He looks pathetic. If I could, I'd spit on him. I stand up and see Nate standing there, leaning up against the wall. He nods.

We leave. Right as we get outside, I see Maynard running up to me. I try my best to smile and pick him up. "Hey, Daniel." He smiles and hugs me.

She came over to me. "That little bugger always runs away from me," she says, a hint of amusement in her voice.

I kiss Mitchie on the cheek. "Let's go home," I say.

I carry Maynard and hold her hand as we walk over to our car and back home.

Well, every story has a last page.

**Nine Crimes… **


End file.
